The Bijozakura Seal
by megyal
Summary: Kakashi and Iruka are bonded together, entirely against their wishes.
1. Bijozakura

**Author's Notes:** This had been written for kinked community (Kink Big Bang) over at Dreamwidth, and it's also posted at Livejournal and AO3. I'm going post each chapter here as well, in fairly regular intervals, so my apologies to those who've seen this already. I owe a lot of thanks to the following people: to penny at Dreamwidth, the Kink Big Bang mod; sherlockian at Dreamwidth, who created a wonderful fanmix that really helped me to write and to txilar, a beta of the highest calibre.

There are a lot of bonding fics out there, but none more important to me than "Bond" by Anna Fugazzi, in the Harry Potter fandom. There are elements in my fic that purposefully echo that one, because I admire it so much. It's not only one of my favourite fanfictions, but one of my fave general _stories_.

I was so surprised and grateful to get artwork from ruthea at deviantart. It's really unfortunate that links are so weird over here, but I'd really encourage you to look at them if you can. They're so lovely.

The chapter titles are taken from Wikipedia's entry on Hanakotoba. I don't know much about the Japanese language of flowers, so please forgive any ignorance.

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**1. Bijozakura **

Kakashi stood to one side of the sealed opening to a cave and watched Iruka-sensei pore over the strange patterns etched into the weathered surface of the stone. The teacher was muttering to himself, fingers hovering over the lettering.

"I can see the chakra-symbol that's being used as a key," Kakashi offered in a drawl, his right hand stuck into one pocket, while the long fingers of his left twitched as his hand hung at his side. "Do you want me to show you where it is?"

"One moment, Kakashi-taicho," Iruka replied almost absently; he tapped the stone beside one particularly large symbol and exhaled heavily through pursed lips. Kakashi exchanged a bemused look with Hiromasa, the medi-nin that completed their three-man team for this mission; he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, stifling an impatient sigh.

Kakashi had been taken-aback when the sensei had been recommended for this particular rescue mission. It was the summer holidays, and he suspected that one of the reasons for placing Iruka was to bring his field-duty records up to scratch while the Academy was on break. Kakashi had requested Nara Shikamaru, because the mission file had indicated the possibility of traps; however, Shikamaru was on a diplomatic mission in Suna and would not return in time for this assignment, according to communication scrolls.

Shikamaru had suggested using the chuunin-sensei in his place. Kakashi had been doubtful, at the very least, but the Hokage had seemed pleased with the idea.

The mission involved two warring tribes at the south-west border of the Fire Nation. The princess of the Ten Ravens tribe had been kidnapped by a group that had originated from Water Country, and which now called their tribe 'Archer'. The leader of Ten Ravens had sent urgent missives to their Daimyo, asking for help in the safe return of their precious heir.

The Fire Lord, in turn, had passed on the request to his hidden village of shinobi, and Kakashi had set out with his three-man team (and some misgivings), travelling quickly to the Village of Ten Ravens. Their current leader was a tall and coolly polite young man named Shou.

"The Archer tribe has done us a grave disservice," Shou, a cousin of the kidnapped princess, had explained. "We had thought that they would be our allies. Instead, they have taken Hitomi-hime, to join with their clan and give them leverage among the local tribes. If you are unable to retrieve her," he said, his expression darkening even more, "then we will wage war on Archer."

"We will do our best," Kakashi had said mildly and Shou had nodded, satisfied for time being.

They had set out for the Archer tribe that very day, coming upon the large cave with massive rocks blocking their entry. Other large boulders overhung this access, delicately balanced high above their heads. Kakashi had immediately set Iruka to the task, partly as a kind of test. To his growing disgruntlement, even after five minutes Iruka was still gazing at the puzzle set at eye-level in the closest rock, obviously the keystone in the whole structure. Moving it without properly figuring out the code could mean the whole thing coming down on top of them, and warn their quarry of their presence.

"That one is the key," Kakashi pointed out now as Iruka's finger continued to tap near that large symbol. "The chakra there is particularly concentrated." It was interesting that chakra had been used, Kakashi thought to himself. That meant that there were either shinobi in the Archer clan or a priest proficient enough in its use.

Iruka gave him a quick look out of the corner of his eye, a mixture of amusement, annoyance and a slight brush of scorn. Kakashi raised his eyebrow and that complex gaze flickered away.

"I know it's the key, Kakashi-san," Iruka said flatly. "It _says_ 'key' and I can feel the chakra too. But it's just too obvious."

"Is it," Kakashi responded in the same bland manner.

"Yes. A key by itself doesn't open or close a door, does it? It needs a lock."

"That makes sense," Hiromasa said, expression serene. He was a tall, bulky man with a weather-beaten face; Kakashi had seen this man in battle and his fingers were quick and gentle, chakra steady and sure. Kakashi frowned in his direction and Hiromasa grinned in reply.

"Well, where's the lock, then?" Kakashi snapped impatiently and took a deep breath as Iruka looked at him with surprise. It was unusual for him to be acting this way, _very _unusual indeed, but he had been brusque with this team since the very beginning... particularly with Iruka-sensei. There was something about him that just rubbed Kakashi the wrong way. He looked too... soft, too easygoing. He wasn't a man that Kakashi would trust implicitly to have at his back.

Oh, Iruka-sensei was loud and brash and brave, that was a fact. He wasn't afraid of any jounin, which was either admirable or crazy, and he had a way of communicating that made people obey or trust that his words were true. If he were more powerful, Kakashi thought that he would probably make a great assistant to a Hokage.

He'd never given the chuunin more than a nod before this; now, he had seen Iruka-sensei every day for the past week, and he just felt jittery and annoyed all the time. Copy-nins were supposed to be the very pinnacle of Calm Cool Collectedness, according to Guy. Kakashi disliked feeling so on-edge all the time, and this internal awkwardness simply fuelled his discomfort and sharpened his interactions with the other man.

Iruka-sensei's lips tightened and his eyes went hard as he turned a little more to Kakashi, his stance slightly belligerent. "I don't know, Kakashi-san," he said in tones dripping with chilly formality. "You are the one with the Sharingan Eye. _You_ tell _me_."

Kakashi pushed off the surface he was leaning against, walking towards Iruka, who stood his ground and stared right back at him with defiant brown eyes. Kakashi frowned; he liked spiritedness, but not on a mission.

He stopped right in front of the teacher, and narrowed his normal eye. Iruka flushed red but did not move or look away.

Kakashi turned from him dismissively and raised his hitai-ate, flickering his gaze over the surface of the massive keystone. The key-chakra glowed far brighter than the other symbols, which were joined together by a shining web of lines. A lock... a symbol for lock...

"I see _two_ symbols for 'lock'." Kakashi's gaze snapped back and forth, gaining more detail in a bare millisecond. "One is directly above the key-symbol, connected by a chakra-line. That's the one that's glowing. One isn't shining at all. So, Sensei," he said mockingly, looking at Iruka with both eyes. "Which one is it?"

"The one that's not glowing," Iruka said, even though he looked away now from Kakashi's bi-coloured regard. "It's not open, so that's the one that needs the key."

"That makes sense too," Hiromasa offered and Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"I agree," Kakashi said drily, and offered Iruka a wry twist of his lips when Iruka finally looked back at him. "Of course, I knew that before you said so."

Iruka scowled at him. Kakashi merely lifted one shoulder in a lethargic shrug. He pressed his own finger to the second lock-symbol and sent a burst of chakra into it. It began to glow right away, and a line flared along the surface, leading from it to the key-symbol. The key brightened earnestly, and Kakashi covered his Sharingan as the entire vertical plane of the rock became a shining network of interconnected symbols, visible even at the normal spectral range, since both Iruka and Hiromasa had turned their faces away from the bright light.

The rocks began to roll themselves neatly to each side, moving under a locomotion jutsu that had been activated by the key. Kakashi watched them, stepping back as the space above the keystone was cleared.

The keystone itself rolled forward and to the left, leaving the tall entry open and clear. Kakashi stepped forward and then stopped, looking down on Iruka's hand gripping his bicep.

"Wait just a few moments, Kakashi-taicho." He motioned with his chin to the entry, dust floating innocuously though shafts of sunlight. "If I had gone through all that trouble to set a doorway like that..."

Kakashi tugged his arm away from Iruka's hold and did as he asked, waiting in fairly bad grace. He raised his eyebrow, however, when a barrage of arrows snapped out of a hidden slot in the smooth face of one wall and striking the opposite surface with almost one single heavy sound, quivering black stone heads of the arrows gleamed in the shafts of golden afternoon light that streamed inside the cave.

"Hmm." Kakashi shrugged. "That was to be expected."

He heard Iruka make a strangled sound in the back of his throat, obviously irritated with him. Kakashi smiled to himself, suddenly feeling immeasurably better. As they dashed cautiously through the dark cave, he wondered idly what else set Iruka's temper off, apart from shinobi who handed in their messy reports very late, and Academy genin who wasted time in his classes.

The cave went on for a surprisingly long time, just a single tunnel with a slight downwards slope. The walls were glowing with light from some swarm of bioluminescent insect, a green radiance that was helpful in their journey. Gradually, however, this glow began to fade, and a pinprick of bright sunlight grew steadily in the distance.

Kakashi raised a fist a few meters from the other end of the cave, a large, well-formed opening. Iruka and Hiromasa immediately landed near where he was crouched, behind a small grouping of boulders piled up against one rocky wall and watched Kakashi's hands intently as he began to use the silent speech.

_Four guards just on the inside of the exit,_he told them quickly. _Four more on the outside._

He pointed at them and then made the symbols for _inside_. Iruka and Hiromasa nodded their understanding. Just to clarify, he pointed to himself. _I'll take the ones outside._

Hiromasa nodded again, but Iruka's gaze was withering, as if he thought Kakashi was treating him like a simpleton. Kakashi frowned at him. Of course, it might seem slightly insulting to Iruka, who gave instructions every day and knew how to take them, but Kakashi _really_couldn't give a shit right now, because misunderstandings meant mistakes, and mistakes could mean failed missions.

Kakashi shook his head slightly; he felt like he was thirteen again, stiff-necked and a stickler for all the rules and regulations. He didn't know what it was about the sensei that made him feel so imbalanced, but he recognised that it was something he needed to work on, before it got completely out of control.

He held up his fingers and began to fold them in one at a time. _Five... four... three... two... one_. As soon as his fist clenched tightly, they all leapt from behind their hiding place. Kakashi landed with his two team-mates in front of the surprised interior guards, but launched himself out again to deal with the exterior guards.

He was pleased to note that, as he took out his own targets quickly, the other two were fairly silent as well. As soon as he trussed up his own guards with chakra wire, he dragged them inside the mouth of the cave and propped them up against the rock-face. He straightened, looking around for them and went into a defensive pose when he saw Hiromasa standing right beside one of the guards, who looked perfectly fine and not tied up at all.

"It's me, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka said from behind the silver-plated mask that the guards wore, his tone amused. He raised his hands slightly and Kakashi noted that they were clad in black gloves which stopped right under the wide sleeves of a dark-blue uniform, just at his upper biceps. A long black sleeveless coat went over the uniform, cinched tightly around the waist.

"Good," Kakashi said briskly and Iruka seemed surprised. "That's a very good idea. Find where the princess is as quickly as you can and return to report."

"Yes, Kakashi-taichou."

Iruka slipped out of the cave silently. Hiromasa and Kakashi crouched at the mouth of the cave, looking out into the surprisingly lovely view. The mouth of the cave opened out into a lush, hidden valley, trees rising out of shadowed undergrowth, while the surrounding rocky hills loomed over the valley in a protective ring. Without the long cave that wormed its way underneath one of those hills, it would have been quite difficult to get into this valley.

Barely ten minutes went by before Kakashi heard what sounded like the innocuous chirps of a common bird, but with that underlying message which signalled that a Konoha shinobi was approaching. Iruka slipped back in a few moments later, and knelt on the floor near them, talking quickly as he removed the mask.

"We need to hurry. I found the princess, but she's in some kind of binding ceremony, apparently with the son of the leader here." Iruka paused, fiddling with the mask in his hands. "I don't think the son wants to marry her, either," he pointed out. "They have him tied up as much as she is."

"Lead us there," Kakashi commanded. "I trust you found a shortcut?"

Iruka flashed him a quick grin and Kakashi blinked as he pulled the silver mask over his face. Without the irritation at Kakashi, Iruka's face had a pleasing quality. He was kind of plain, in Kakashi's humble opinion, but that smile was tinged with a kind of mischief that Kakashi could relate to.

Kakashi exhaled, feeling lighter. The strange displeasure had left him, and finally they felt like a complete team.

"Follow me, in the tree-line." Iruka rose and dashed out, Hiromasa and Kakashi following close behind. They hurtled down the slope from the cave and when the trees thinned out over a carefully constructed cobblestone path, Iruka slowed down to a quick walk as the other two kept to the foliage.

The cobblestone path met up with a larger street, which Iruka kept to for only a few moments before he turned onto another side-road, one which ran close to the encroaching forest. Now and again, other Archer guardsmen would walk on this street and Iruka would adopt their odd march: left arm folded close to the body to clench the fist at the chest, right arm swinging in time with the long strides. It was an effective mimicry and they followed him without any interruption until they arrived at a large, wooden temple, a large river running behind it.

Kakashi peered out from the thick foliage of the tree he and Hiromasa were hiding in, watching Iruka brazenly push past the throng of other guards and Archer civilians until he came to the very edge of a large round podium.

On it, two young people were bound and seated on ornately carved thrones, surrounded by four or five men dressed as priests. A girl, around twelve or thirteen, was struggling in her throne, curses that no princess should know flowing from her lips. Beside her, a boy of roughly the same age sat limply. His eyes were glowing, a swampy green shade that was some sign of mind-control. Kakashi frowned beneath his mask.

"No!" The kidnapped princess screamed at a priest that inched near her and the crowd muttered restlessly. The people didn't seem to be in agreement with this whole procedure at all, and Kakashi noted that for his own report; it might be helpful in future diplomatic wranglings. The crowd actually surged forward and another priest held up his hand commandingly, halting the protesting action.

"This I do for my people!" This priest cried and the crowd's mumblings began to melt away. The man who spoke was obviously the head of the priests and quite likely the leader of the Archer clan, judging from the reactions of the crowd. "With the latent powers of this princess joined to that of my son, our tribe will grow powerful!"

There were a few half-hearted cheers, but the priest's eyes were fervent with his belief, ignoring the less than enthusiastic response.

"They will become bound together in lifelong commitment," the priest said tenderly, lifting his hands and moving them in a slow, ceremonious manner. Light began to pulsate between his palms, weakly at first, then flaring to a brightness that was almost painful to look on. It was chakra, a _lot_ of it, strong and very unrefined. The sound of it was an insistent buzz that seemed to push at the eardrums, and the people gathered below began to grimace and back away. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi could see Hiromasa raise his hands and place over his own ears. A few moments later, Hiromasa pressed his palms to Kakashi's ears and left a protective layer of chakra that held out most of that sound.

Kakashi nodded his thanks and began to make seals quickly; the light in the priest's hands split into two as he pulled his hands apart, holding one each over the heads of the trapped children. The princess had gone past curses and was now sobbing openly.

Kakashi had almost completed the long series of hand-seals needed for the Water Dragon Jutsu, and then Hiromasa lurched forward in surprise. Iruka, obviously and predictably moved by the tears of a child, had jumped onto the podium, kicking the priest right in the chest. As the priest stumbled backwards, Iruka brandished a kunai and hacked at the girl's bonds.

"Shit!" Kakashi hissed. "_Suiton! Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"_

The water rose with a massive roar, and hovered over the platform in the shape of a menacing dragon. Wails of fright rose from the crowd and people wisely began to vacate the area; even the assistant priests raced to the end of the platform and jumped off. Kakashi and Hiromasa propelled themselves onto the stage even as Iruka undid the bonds from around the boy and pulling him up to stand.

The priest was shrieking wordlessly as he released the balls of light from his hands and they streaked towards the children. Iruka grabbed them both, turned around to shield them protectively and screamed as the balls of light crashed into his back. The water-dragon, under Kakashi's direction, flung itself towards the priest and pushed him over the side of the stage and into the river, the imposing form of the dragon splashing back to its origin.

Iruka, the princess and the priest's son were lying curled up on the surface of the stage. As Kakashi raced towards Iruka, Hiromasa close on his heels, he saw the boy cough weakly and a small green worm fall from his mouth. Hiromasa stepped on the mind-numbing insect, crushing it beneath his sandal.

"Hiromasa, check them first," Kakashi commanded and knelt beside Iruka's limp body. "Idiot," he snapped desperately as he reached out to grasp Iruka's shoulder and pull him onto his back. "Why did you do-"

An immense jolt of energy flashed up Kakashi's arm as soon as he touched Iruka; it felt like a _raikiri_ gone wrong. It seeped into the rest of his body with alarming speed, crinkling his nerve-endings and snapping his synapses. His chakra lurched and shuddered in his body and to his alarm, it began to _change_, twisting almost out of Kakashi's control.

There was a rushing of sensation and emotion, bright lights, panic and a voice that seemed to drill itself into the middle of his brain; Kakashi's mind refused to handle it all and simply shut down.


	2. Furījia

Iruka moaned softly, a short low sound in the back of his throat. He tried to move, but there was someone draped over him in this large futon. He attempted to shift his hands and legs, but this same person had limbs like an octopus, tightening around him even as he tried to pull away.

Iruka wormed his fingers between their bodies and pinched the clinging person right in their side, underneath the ribs. The person rolled away with a surprised, garbled yell and Iruka sat up in satisfaction.

Immediately, an overwhelming sense of terror assailed him; it seemed as if his whole body was doused in ice-cold water and then pushed into a blazing inferno. His chakra seemed to be the cause of this; he felt as if it was being shredded into tiny jagged pieces. Iruka curled up, pressed his face into the soft sheets and tried not to scream out loud. He had never felt this before, so desolate and wretched. It was worse than the night of the Kyuubi's attack.

Arms hauled him up and wrapped around him tightly. In an instant, his chakra calmed down from the panicked tumult it had whipped itself into and the pain, both emotional and physical, faded away. The peace that washed over Iruka was so unexpectedly wonderful that he almost burst into tears; as it was, a few rogue drops slipped out of his eyes and slid down over his cheeks. Confused and embarrassed, he looked up into Kakashi's face. Kakashi was wearing a blue kerchief wrapped around his lower face, another as a makeshift patch over the Sharingan, and his revealed eye was completely disapproving.

Iruka, of course, frowned back reflexively, raising one hand to dash away the unsolicited tears from his face. "Why are you holding me like this?" he demanded and squirmed. "Please let me go, Kakashi-taichou."

"If I let you go, then our chakra will go crazy again," Kakashi said, and his voice sounded as if it was coming through a block of ice. "Just keep still."

"What?" Iruka blinked rapidly, but Kakashi looked away. Iruka was sprawled sideways over his lap as Kakashi leaned against the wall. Iruka looked down at himself; he was dressed in some soft robe, folded close around his body and belted at the waist. He raised a hand and touched his hair; it was pulled free, hanging around his shoulders. "Where are we? Where's Hiromasa? What's going on?"

"Those are the questions I expected first, sensei, instead of you trying to gouge out my side," Kakashi said with mocking humour but Iruka felt some strange knowledge touch at the corner of his mind: Kakashi wasn't really as amused as he sounded. As a matter of fact, he was downright _pissed-off _and Iruka was currently the single focus of his ire.

"Well, what are you angry at _me_ for?" Iruka blurted out and pushed at Kakashi's chest, trying to get away again. He couldn't deal with Kakashi's proximity right now; his chest was so warm against Iruka's arm and side, their legs tangled together.

"I'm not angry with you," Kakashi said in a monotone, not letting him go. He winced, loosening his hold just a bit when Iruka's fingers began to poke his side again. "Stop that."

"No, _you _stop that," Iruka hissed. He knew the moment that Kakashi's annoyance at him increased. "Stop being angry with me, unless you're going to explain what-"

Iruka stopped speaking abruptly and gazed at Kakashi, aware that a confused look was probably dawning on his face. "I can tell what you're feeling."

"And I can tell that you're very confused right now," Kakashi shot back. "It's all over your face. You're like an open book, really."

Iruka was about to tell him what _he_ was like (it involved an _ass_and a _hole_) when a screen-panel slid open and Hiromasa peeped in on them.

"Oh, you're awake," he breathed, relieved. "May I enter?"

"Yes, that's fine," Kakashi replied lightly and then looked at Iruka, who was gaping up at his face. It wasn't fine _at all_, for Iruka could feel the other man's discomfort building. Kakashi wasn't too keen on holding onto Iruka like this, and while he appeared perfectly at ease on the outside, he seemed to be a seething mass of twisted emotions internally. Iruka felt them slide against his mind, sharp edges and jittery corners, and barely restrained the urge to flinch away. He glanced at Kakashi out of the corner of one eye, and looked away at the sight of his unreadable visage.

Iruka gazed down at his own lap, pushing down his own confusion to consider what little he knew about Hatake Kakashi. It was very likely that he didn't like physical contact at all. He had never seen him touch anyone else, unless it was to carry a hurt colleague. This was probably a very unusual situation for him.

Hiromasa came in quickly, kneeling on the floor and reaching out to Iruka with a calmly questioning expression. Iruka nodded and let Hiromasa stroke chakra-wrapped hands to his temple and sternum.

"Well," Hiromasa said cheerfully, "Physically, you're quite fine. I can't see it very well, but Kakashi-taichou can, with his Sharingan."

"See what?" Iruka found himself snuggling back into Kakashi's hold and stiffened at the realization. Kakashi himself was sitting rigidly and Iruka tried to pull back as carefully as he dared. His chakra, however, seemed to take issue with this movement and rebelled grimly; he could feel it arching back in Kakashi's direction, as if it had been hooked and was being reeled in. With a sigh, Iruka leaned back, trying not to melt with the sensation of renewed contact. Kakashi was so solid and warm, and if Iruka just turned his head, he would be able to smell Kakashi even better; he could settle his nose in the hollow at Kakashi's collarbone, where sweet shadows seemed to reside. He was halfway to doing just that, and Kakashi shifted away, bringing Iruka back to his senses.

Iruka's face felt hot enough to melt off his face.

"I can't tell the details of it," Kakashi said gruffly. "We need a Byakugan-user for that."

"See _what_?" Iruka muttered and Kakashi shifted again.

"Didn't he tell you?" Hiromasa gave Kakashi a stern glance before giving his full attention to Iruka once more. "The ceremony that the priest was performing on those poor children... it was to bond them together. He was going to join their chakra in a kind of, um, marriage."

Iruka stared at him for a very long time, speechless. Poor Hiromasa shifted awkwardly and opened his mouth to say something, when the screen was pulled aside again, and the kidnapped princess stalked through. Her eyes, wide and very beautiful, went even wider as the Konoha team stared at her.

"Oh! You're awake, good! KIYO-KUN! THE SHINOBI-SAN ARE AWAKE!" she screeched over her shoulder. There was a very long dignified pause and then the son of the crazed priest glided in, carrying a massive book in his small, pale hands.

Kakashi was very guarded, Iruka could tell, but for his part he was charmed by the boy's small smile and careful manners. Unlike the brash Princess Hitomi, he bowed politely and introduced himself as Kiyoshi.

"Thank you all," he said shyly, kneeling down beside the futon. He tilted his head and glared at Hitomi, who rolled her eyes, but flopped to her knees unceremoniously. "Shinobi of Konoha, you have spared us from a life of unwilling union. For that, we are grateful and will pay you most deservedly. We also deeply regret that you have been caught in this powerful seal."

"Yeah, I'm really glad though, 'cause who wants to be married to _him_," Hitomi muttered. Kiyoshi didn't glare at her this time, but his nose wrinkled in distaste.

"I am sure you want to know exactly what happened." Kiyoshi shuffled closer and opened the book he was carrying. It fell open to a chapter on bonding-seals. "This is my father's book. He took it from another priest, one that was travelling from village to village. My father used it to research a seal that would keep me and a potential partner bonded together, through our... what is the word?"

"Chakra," Hitomi said in a bored voice. "I have it too, don't think you're special."

"It _is_ special," Iruka cut in quickly, because Kiyoshi's delicate face had gained a murderous quality. "Most shinobi have chakra, some in great quantities. If you two were born in a hidden village, you would be trained as ninja."

The children seemed intrigued.

"It seemed that your father wanted to unite your chakra?" Iruka ventured and cleared his throat, trying to get that dry, nervous feeling out of it. He didn't really want to hear the details, but he'd _have _to know, sooner or later, in any case.

"Yes. This is the Bijozakura seal, an ancient chakra-bond." He handed the book to Hiromasa, who held it so that Iruka and Kakashi could see it. A drawing of a seated couple was on the page, a shower of small purple petals raining down over their heads.

"That says the bond is meant to be unbreakable," Kakashi said slowly. Kiyoshi nodded.

"It would have forced our people together, by tradition. Our powers would be shared," he answered.

"Ten Ravens would never go with that!" Hitomi yelled passionately; she quieted down, expression sheepish as Iruka pulled out a Stern Teacher face and used it on her.

"Neither would Archer," Kiyoshi told her archly. "It was only my father and some of his followers that would force something like this on us."

"Why do I have to keep touching Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi cut in, sounding as if Iruka was some kind of rotten fish that someone had thrown on him. Iruka felt his top lip curl in anger, and Kakashi's disdain seemed to bristle against his wrath.

"That is the first stage of the bond," Hiromasa answered, reading the text; he had the book held up to his face so close that it was almost touching his nose. "It says here that, to prevent the escape of a reluctant spouse, the chakra are bound tightly together, and the bodies follow suit. This will enhance emotional and..._physical_ intimacy."

"Oh my," Iruka muttered, flushing slightly as Hiromasa cleared his throat, and the children looked a little confused. But a wave of mortification emanated from Kakashi; Iruka actually turned his face and looked at that bored eye in amazement.

Kakashi... was _embarrassed_? This couldn't be the same man that walked around with his face plastered to porn all the time. Was it because they were both men? Iruka didn't have a problem with that. Which meant that Kakashi... wasn't quite as open as he was.

Well; that could be tricky, to say the very least.

Hiromasa got to his feet and crouched behind the children so that he could see into the book."'_As time passes_'," he read, "'_the necessity of physical closeness will fade, but the joining of power will remain. The Seal of Bijozakura is a true union of might and minds that none can put asunder_.'"

"So basically, I'm stuck with Iruka-sensei until I die," Kakashi sighed, tragically.

"You don't have to sound so pessimistic about the whole thing," Iruka snapped. "I'll have you know, I'm a _catch_. Anyone with a working brain in their heads would want me."

Kiyoshi and Hitomi tittered at that as Hiromasa grinned, but Iruka only threw them a half-attentive smile. He was distracted by the sensation of hesitant amusement that Kakashi was giving off. It was warm, a complete change from the blanket of disapproval Kakashi had projected at him before, and it took Iruka's breath away a little.

Kakashi was throwing him off his guard almost completely. Seeing him walk around Konoha with his _Icha Icha_, handing in those messy reports, making Naruto hopping mad at his lateness... Iruka had thought that all there was to him was that odd, half-sociable brilliance. Since the start of this whole mission, Kakashi had been irritated, cool and amused at him in dizzying turns. It had been eye-opening; Iruka had actually been relieved, to be honest. Instead of the tall mysterious Sharingan no Kakashi, he was just another man.

_Another man who is actually quite sexy and has you all cuddled in his lap_, part of Iruka piped up helpfully and he struggled with the thought, desperately hoping that Kakashi didn't pick it up.

"What... are you hiding something?" Kakashi asked slowly, tilting his head so that he could look into Iruka's face directly. "You're hiding something from me."

"You sound just like a married couple already," Hitomi scoffed. "That's gross."

"We're not married, little princess," Kakashi told her with finality. "It's just an accident. We'll fix it soon."

"But, shinobi-san, it's supposed to be unbreakable," Kiyoshi said in innocent and scandalised tones. "Suppose you try to break it and... something bad happens?"

"Our Hokage is one of the great Sannin, and a wonderful medi-nin." Hiromasa's tones were brimming with confidence. "We'll be sure to find a solution to this quite soon. I think we need to be leaving now, and taking Hitomi-hime back to her people."

"Please do," Kiyoshi said, narrowing his eyes at the princess; she stuck her tongue out at him. "She's _really _loud."

**. . . . . .**

After the children and Hiromasa left, Kakashi found that dressing themselves back in their shinobi gear was a vaguely mortifying experience. They had both been unconscious when they had been brought to the finely-made house of the priest and apparently Hiromasa had been the one to strip and place those sumptuous robes on them; it must have been a struggle to keep them in some kind of physical contact, but Hiromasa had waved off Iruka's thanks and apologies with a small smile.

Now, they were wide-awake, standing and holding hands reluctantly in small, connected anteroom, looking down at their neatly folded clothes on a low bench. At least, Iruka was looking in dismay and Kakashi's expression was bland; internally, he was frowning at the whole world.

"This might be problematic," Iruka ventured and looked away when Kakashi gave him a quick look out of the corner of his eye.

"We're ninja." Kakashi shrugged and reached for his pants, placing it close at hand. "Let's treat it as a mission." He turned and looked at Iruka's red face; he grinned slowly behind his kerchief and began to slide his yukata from off his shoulders with his free hand. If they were to be supremely awkward, then he might as well have a little fun, right?

"It's not _that_ fun, you know," Iruka muttered even as Kakashi pulled him forward to grasp at his dark pants. "I don't know what kind of missions _you've_ been on, but this is not fun in the least."

Kakashi stopped and stared at him, surprised.

"What?" Iruka took up his own pants, turning them from side to side, as if clear instructions to putting them on while holding one hand with Kakashi were written somewhere near the fastenings.

"Did you read my mind, Iruka-sensei?"

"I don't think so?" Iruka stepped into his pants and pulled it up his legs, shuffling around comically. He finally gave up the one-handed approach and deftly snapped each fastening, the laced fingers of his and Kakashi's hands brushing close to his groin; Kakashi could feel the embarrassment floating through their link... and something else that was almost too faint to read because Iruka was dampening it, somehow.

Iruka wrinkled his nose. "But I could feel your amusement, though, at the prospect of making me uncomfortable. I don't need to read words inside your head."

Kakashi frowned at this. He didn't like that; the reason for his mask was to keep people at arms' length as much as possible. Now, here was Iruka-sensei, blithely reading his every emotion as easily as if it was a large sign plastered on his face.

He didn't like it at all, especially in the face of that elusive emotion of Iruka's that floated out of his reach.

Ignoring that for now, Kakashi reached for Iruka's other hand and unceremoniously planted them both on his shoulders. Ignoring Iruka's spluttering, he hauled on his pants as quickly as he could, then pulled off the loose robes over his head and placing them on the bench. He took Iruka's hands by the wrists again and set them on his own hips, dragging on his shirt and vest, pulling the mask attachment on top of the kerchief before undoing the knot of the soft blue material and removing the kerchief completely. He placed it on the rumpled heap of the robes, then looked at Iruka with one eyebrow raised.

"That was fast," Iruka said drily, and Kakashi buckled his vest. The chuunin-sensei was still without his shirt and flak-jacket, so Kakashi sat on the bench and placed his own hands on Iruka's waist.

"That's why they call me the Copy-nin." Kakashi tilted his head and slanted a look at Iruka's face. "Well? Put on the rest of your clothes, so we can go."

"Oh. Alright."

Kakashi raised both eyebrows this time at that funny, breathless little tone; he was getting a little cross with whatever Iruka was hiding behind his general mortification. He let his gaze focus somewhere around the level of Iruka's navel as the other man finally pulled off his yukata and bent forward to retrieve his black undershirt; Kakashi's hands slid up, resting on his waist. Under the fingers of his left hand, Kakashi could see a black curving line: part of a tattoo. Interesting. He kept his mouth shut, but he found his fingers moved gently over it without his express permission.

Iruka went red all over; it seemed that his skin heated considerably under Kakashi's touch. Kakashi stared at his stomach as Iruka pulled the shirt over his head, watching the delineation of his abdominal muscles with an attempt at detachment, until the undershirt covered the browned skin completely.

It was interesting how fair his skin was compared to Iruka's; but, Kakashi had always been pale. Just one of those things he had inherited from the White Fang of Konoha.

He started when Iruka's fingers brushed against his cheek.

"Are you alright? You feel... subdued."

Kakashi leaned away and stared up at him, surprised, and Iruka let his hand fall away without a word; his touch had been warm through the material of his mask, and his own hands were still placed on the other man's waist. He removed them instantly and grabbed onto Iruka's fingers before their chakra could complain, holding them as loosely as possible as he got to his feet.

"I'm fine. Just went wandering on some road in the past."

"Oh?" Iruka's lips lifted in faint amusement. "Well, make sure you don't get lost."

_Hear that, ghosts of my past?_ Kakashi thought wryly. _My dearly bonded here wants me to forget you._"Let's go," he said and walked forward, stopping short when Iruka's lack of movement snagged him back. "Well? What's wrong?" He could feel streaks of remorse darkening the bond between them.

"I'm truly sorry, Kakashi-san." Iruka's voice was low, but steady. His earnest brown eyes were fixed on Kakashi's. "If it wasn't for me, we would not be in this position right now-"

Kakashi stifled a sigh. "We can't change what happened. Besides, you don't know how the seal would have affected those children. You did a good job, Sensei." He let the compliment ride on a lazy tone, but Iruka was still troubled, he could sense it. Kakashi breathed out and in slowly, hoping that some calming influence would spread to Iruka. It seemed as if it worked, because the furrow in between Iruka's dark eyebrows smoothed out and his lips quirked up tentatively.

Kakashi tore his gaze away from Iruka's mouth. It was the seal's doing, inducing all this staring at another man's face and skin, and Kakashi hated it. He didn't like having attachments like this and moreover, he didn't like being _forced_ into it.

"Nevertheless, I am sorry," Iruka murmured as Kakashi led him out of the room. Their bond was suddenly drenched in a gloom that was worlds away from the calm that Kakashi had attempted to inject into it before; and that other feeling from Iruka, the one that Kakashi couldn't quite identify, was there as well, swirling around in desolate wisps, skittering out of Kakashi's mental reach every time he tried to classify it.

Kakashi was a man that preferred clarity; he didn't appreciate being in a confused state at _all_.

With an effort, he put the puzzling state into a neat little box and packed it away for now. He made a point to scrutinize the gaol in which the priest and his followers had been placed. He also spoke with the young Kiyoshi, now the nominal leader of the village, and his advisors as to the length of punishment for his father and possible ramifications when he was finally freed. He inspected the chakra-block that Hiromasa had placed on the priest, to make sure that his power was not abused in the near future. Kakashi did all this while walking around and holding to Iruka's hand tightly. He didn't feel any embarrassment coming from Iruka's side of the bond, just a solid blanket of composure that took the ends of Kakashi's fractious nerves and soothed them effectively, calming him to work with a clear mind.

There was also a long discussion about getting some kind of basic chakra training for Kiyoshi; as they made their way out, Iruka diplomatically offered to arrange that one of Konoha's Academy lecturers would be spared for a few sessions.

"And me too," Hitomi had demanded, dressed in some borrowed ceremonial garb. She crossed her hand over her chest and peered up at them. "I have chakra like him! Ten Ravens won't be behind anyone!"

"Of course." Iruka smiled down at the young princess and received a bright smile; it was fortunate that he had dealt with Naruto's brand of loud determination, for she was very similar.

The villagers of Archer followed them to the inner mouth of the cave, waving and calling their thanks. Kiyoshi and a few guards continued with them to the outer entry, the massive rocks rumbling as they enclosed the small village once more. Their small team and the princess entered the quiet forest, the bright afternoon sun barely piercing the heavy layer of trees and branches.

"Hitomi-hime," Hiromasa said, kneeling down. "Please allow me to carry you, as we will be traveling very fast through the trees."

"Really?" Hitomi clambered onto his broad back. "Will this be fun?" she asked Iruka.

Iruka grinned at her and Kakashi looked at his face out of the corner of his eye. Iruka's love for children was pure and obvious, not only in his face, but in the content feeling that spilled from him over to Kakashi.

"Just hold on tight, but don't choke Hiromasa-san," Iruka warned her. "And yes. It _will_ be fun."

Hitomi nodded and she let out a subdued shriek of delight as Hiromasa launched into the lush leaves. He was still smiling slightly when he turned his face in Kakashi's direction.

"How will we run like this, sensei?" Kakashi lifted their joined hands.

Iruka's smile faded and he gave Kakashi a narrow stare. "I can keep up," he answered shortly. "I only _look _slow."

"I didn't say you were," Kakashi snapped in return, feeling his skin begin to flush with what seemed to be mostly annoyance.

"You didn't have to." Iruka's eyes were still narrowed at him, with those thick black lashes and then... well, Kakashi really didn't know what happened. One moment, they were glaring at each other in mutual annoyance and the next, Kakashi had his mask pulled down to his chin and they were _kissing_. He tasted Iruka's surprised gasp, and pressed closer as Iruka's lips parted, their tongues tangling together.

Their chakra danced around them, curling and pulling them close, wrapping taut bands of power around them. Iruka's free hand stroked Kakashi's cheek tentatively as their lips moved together, and Kakashi felt something jab against his skin.

Surprised, he pulled away, fixing his mask before Iruka's eyes fluttered open. That... that should _not_ have happened. Not with Iruka, not with _anyone._ The loss of control was unsettling, not to mention the odd feel of Iruka's chest against his, and how his strong thighs had pressed against Kakashi's. He gritted his teeth as his chakra ached in his bones, needing to be close to Iruka again.

"That... that was just the bond forcing us," he said in a monotone, looking away from Iruka's kiss-swollen mouth. Then, his exposed eye widened as his gaze landed on Iruka's free hand, still held up in the air, fingers curled loosely.

There were small sparks of blue lightning dancing around his fingers. Kakashi grabbed him by the wrist and stared at the tiny flashes until they faded.

"That's _my_ chakra," Kakashi muttered and looked accusingly at Iruka, as if the other man had crept inside his skin and stolen all his carefully developed skills.

"I didn't take it on purpose." Iruka wrenched this hand from Kakashi's hold; their other hands remained joined, their fingers held stiffly against each other's. "And if I have a bit of yours, maybe you have some of mine."

Kakashi looked at his face again; Iruka stared back, still defiant but more than a little confused.

The words tumbled out of Kakashi's mouth before he could filter them: "I wouldn't find much use for _your_ chakra."

Iruka went very still, his gaze fixed on Kakashi's face. While his face had gone uncharacteristically pale, it was also mostly unreadable, and Kakashi picked up on a tendril of hurt. Kakashi just kept on looking at him. Iruka's expression became as hard as rock.

"Of course you wouldn't, Kakashi-_san_," he said, and his words felt sharp. Kakashi actually had to refrain from flinching. "Anything else you _don't_ want?"

Kakashi felt his lips curl under his mask in a sneer, but there was so much desire boiling under his skin for this infuriating and astoundingly prickly chuunin. Damn this seal. Iruka inhaled deeply and then pressed his lips together; Kakashi nearly bent in again to swipe his tongue across them, and snapped his gaze away, gazing towards home.

"Let's go," he said roughly, and they leapt for the trees.


	3. Sakurasō

Iruka sat beside Kakashi on a surprisingly comfortable couch, which was currently located to one side of the Hokage's office. He had never seen it before, and he had been inside this office more times than he could count, so he assumed it was only brought out on the nights when the Hokage had to stay late and work. They had delivered the princess safely back to Ten Ravens, and her return had been marked with such a joyous celebration, that Iruka thought it had all almost been completely worth it.

Almost.

Kakashi had traveled at top speed back to Konoha, and Iruka pushed himself to keep up. While they had been in Ten Ravens, Kakashi had sent Hiromasa ahead with the mission report, and a special message for the Hokage. They had breezed through the front gaze without a second word to the guards on duty, heading towards the Tower. The presence of ANBU surrounding them as they entered was particularly heavy, and Iruka half-expected that the three ANBU who met them right in front of the Hokage's office would turn them away. Instead, they were shown in and told to wait on the couch until the Hokage arrived.

Kakashi sat as far away as possible without having their hands and arms act like a hanging bridge between their bodies. Iruka felt hot and sweaty, but he bore the discomfort by mentally going through a list of defensive moves, and how to teach them. He felt a low-grade desire burning at the back of his mind like banked fire, and felt miserable at the need to fight it off. Beside him, Kakashi was as still as a rock; he didn't even seem to be breathing, but Iruka got a sense of increasing impatience and annoyance coming from him.

"Could you stop jittering around like that?" Kakashi muttered after a few dismal minutes of waiting.

"I'm jittering?" Iruka said and then looked down at his legs; the one on Kakashi's side was bouncing around nervously and Iruka made an intense effort to stop it. "There. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Kakashi answered in an extremely flat tone. They both looked up as the door opened, and the Hokage walked in.

"Stay out here," she threw over her shoulder at the ANBU. Kakashi stood up, pulling Iruka with him, and they went to stand up in front of her desk as she sat down behind it and steepled her fingers in front of her face.

"Hatake," she said. "Report."

Kakashi had his other hand stuck in his pocket, completing the picture of complete relaxation and boredom. Yet as he outlined their mission, Iruka noted that his phrasing was precise, his tone crisp; _very_ different, Iruka huffed internally, from the reports he handed in to the Mission Office. The Hokage listened, and her eyebrows lifted when Kakashi got to the part about the seal.

"Well done on rescuing the princess," Tsunade said when Kakashi finished, "but did you _have_ to get yourself all bonded together?"

"Iruka-sensei allowed his emotions to run rampant with him," Kakashi said and Iruka bristled.

"Our mission was to rescue a child. I wasn't about to let those kids get hurt," he said. Kakashi turned to look at him, his expression bland but he was actually frowning at Iruka in his _mind_ or something, because Iruka felt the heat of his displeasure. Iruka glowered in return and Kakashi's visible eye slitted.

"You didn't have to jump in like that."

"What did you expect me to do? Just stand down?" Iruka shook his head in disgust, even though he really wanted to lean in close to Kakashi and kiss him. The urge was increasing and was almost unbearable now, but Iruka didn't think that making out in front of the Godaime was a good idea.

"Can't be helped now," Tsunade sighed and then tilted her head. "Release each other's hands for a moment."

Iruka took a deep breath and braced himself. Kakashi had already straightened his fingers, and Iruka slowly let his go slack as well. Their hands fell to their sides and Iruka bit his lip at the intense hurt that filled his soul. He withstood it for about two seconds and then grabbed Kakashi's hand again. They both were breathing rapidly.

"Interesting," the Hokage muttered, and then pressed her finger to a small red circle on the side of her desk. A bright spark of her chakra ignited the area, and it travelled down the side of the wood, streaking against the seam of the wall and floor, before slipping out under the door. The door was pulled open instantly, and Shizune stuck her head in.

"Now, Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, send Neji in."

The young jounin entered the room with measured steps. If he was surprised at seeing Kakashi and Iruka holding hands, there was no sign of it on his face.

"Hokage-sama. Iruka-sensei. Kakashi-sensei." His greeting was, as usual, calmly polite. "How may I assist?"

"I need you to look at their chakra very closely," Tsunade ordered and Neji nodded. He clasped his hands together, index fingers pressed together and pointing up.

"_Byakugan!_" The veins around his eyes bulged, and his eyes were bright as he focused on Iruka and Kakashi. Iruka tried to keep still, and he was relieved when the inspection was over.

"Their chakra is mixed so closely together, it is hard for even me to tell where one ends and when one begins," he explained and Iruka flinched at the cold wave of shock that came from Kakashi.

"When I used the Sharingan to look before, they appeared only joined together at the edges," Kakashi said; his words sounded as if they were forced between stiff lips.

"I have told you what I saw," Neji answered. "It was almost like looking at the chakra-signature of one person."

"The process of the Bijozakura seal is obviously not a static one," Tsunade said in a wondering tone. "Thank you, Neji."

"It is an honour to be of assistance, Hokage-sama." Neji gave all of them quick bows, but he offered Iruka quick little smile. Iruka smiled back, remembering how aloof Neji had seemed in his classes. When he left, Tsunade turned her golden gaze on the unlikely pair before her once more.

"Kakashi, is there anything else you can tell me about the seal?" she asked. "For example, exactly how long this stage of obligatory contact will last?"

Iruka had been amazed at the depth of the Sharingan's recall; Kakashi had recounted the information from out of the book that Kiyoshi had shown them, word for word. Now, Kakashi shook his head at Tsunade's question.

"As I said in my report, there is no defined period. Apparently it depends on the bonded pair. The more resistant they are to the seal, the longer it takes."

"So we have no idea how long one of my top jounin and my best teacher will be out of commission," Tsunade sighed. "Tricky, tricky times." She nodded to herself and then looked at them with her eyes narrowed slightly. "Then treat this as a mission: you two _need_ to find some way to work through the parameters of the seal, so you can go back to functioning in your separate capacities." Her gaze softened. "It will be hard. But it can be done."

"And who will be captain on this mission?" Kakashi asked in a drawl. Iruka rolled his eyes.

"You both are," Tsunade snapped and then waved them away. "Be off with you, and _do not fail_ at this."

"I'm not in the habit of failing, Hokage-sama," Kakashi told her.

"Neither am I," Iruka put in and Kakashi didn't look in his direction. Iruka didn't need to see his face in order to feel his exasperation, though.

"Good! Then this will be over in no time." Her drilling stare told them _it better be_.

**. . . . .**

Their first hurdle came about when they were jumping from roof to roof on their way home. When they got to that section of the city which housed the shinobi, Kakashi simply headed in the direction of his house. He felt a sharp pull on his hand and let out a sigh before turning to look at Iruka, who was glaring at him.

"Where are you going?" Iruka asked, his shoulders held tensely. Kakashi sighed again.

"To my house. Where I live." Kakashi let his visible eye go half-lidded. Iruka's lips went thin to match.

"I was going to _my_ apartment."

"I don't stay in anyone else's home but mine," Kakashi said in a very low and threat-laden tone.

"Well, you'll have to soon enough," Iruka said, his brown eyes flashing in the gloom. "I know you have trust issues, Hatake, but we're in this thing together. You have your place, I have mine, and you can't just have the comfort of your own home to yourself."

"My trust issues aren't that large," Kakashi informed him and Iruka's laugh was mocking. He stopped when Kakashi said, "And besides, my home is bigger than yours."

"Please. Your flat is the same as mine."

"Not my _other_ home," Kakashi shot back and felt satisfaction at how Iruka scowled at him. "It's nearby and it's more private than the blocks. Trust me, _Umino._ You don't want both of us in a space as small as an apartment, no matter how close we need to be."

Iruka's face was still stony. "I still think your argument is invalid. We won't stay at your place all the while, though. I have my own home, and I won't just relinquish the rights to my personal space."

Even Kakashi's eyelashes felt annoyed. "Fine," he snapped. "First three days at my place, next three at yours and we do a round of janken to see where we take the remaining day."

"Janken," Iruka said in the sourest tones Kakashi had ever heard. "How diplomatic of you."

"Be grateful I don't challenge you to a sparring-round." Kakashi hoped his bored tones transmitted how much, or rather, how little he thought of a chuunin-sensei's chances against an elite jounin. He stared at Iruka as the other man let out a mocking laugh, his eyes sparkling in a vaguely malicious manner. Kakashi had never seen him with that expression before; he had always appeared unassuming, sweet…modestly soft.

"Do you really think you're the first person to underestimate me?" Iruka's voice was low and controlled, but Kakashi detected the tight coil of anger coming from him through their bond. "Go ahead and challenge me, if you like. I promise that at the very least, I'll make you _work_ for it."

Kakashi actually took a step back from him, looking at him in a sharper manner. Iruka appeared just the same: almost his height but more sturdily-built, all that dark hair caught in the ponytail and brown eyes cool as they returned his regard. Iruka still felt angry, but now there was a hint of solid determination.

"Maybe I _will_ challenge you," Kakashi said in a thoughtful drawl. "See what you're made of."

Iruka's smile had an enigmatic tilt. Then, he raised his hand, the one Kakashi was not holding, and clenched his fist. Kakashi glowered as blue-white sparks jumped between his knuckles.

"Apparently," Iruka said, looking at his own curled fingers with interest, "I've gained a bit more of an edge."

"Come on." Kakashi stomped off the edge of the building, leaping off; he didn't care if Iruka hadn't expected that, but when he landed on the ground behind a small store a few minutes later, Iruka alighted with textbook silence at his side. Kakashi took the back-alleys toward his house, his strides long. Iruka kept up with him easily, and turned with him up a narrow staircase as if he knew exactly where they going.

"You live above a weapons'-shop," Iruka said and Kakashi barely refrained from saying _Obviously._

"I've rented out the ground floor," Kakashi answered, a bit reluctantly. "Ietaka-san comes from a long line of master weaponsmiths."

Iruka's fingers twitched around his. "I know. I like the balance of his kunai, and he makes practice gear for our students."

"Of course," Kakashi said as they stepped onto the narrow landing. He raised his hand to undo the protective chakra-seals, but Iruka tugged on his other hand. Kakashi looked over his shoulder and took in the way Iruka's dark eyebrows were pulled together.

"Wait." Iruka stepped forward, holding up his free hand. He moved it slowly along the door, brown fingers twitching over the handle. "Here," he murmured and then stroked where the hinge would be on the inside. "Here." He paused and then stepped back, looking down at where the door met floor. "And there."

"How did you know?" Kakashi asked, sticking his own free hand in his pocket and tilting his head; a feeling of disquiet muttered in his chest and Iruka gave him a quick glance which he ignored. Iruka had detected where all he had placed all the keys to the seals. Most people had one key, some had two…and persons like Kakashi placed three. They had to be opened in order, or the seals would react with violence, snatching up an intruder in a painful trap until Kakashi or someone else happened upon them.

"I felt them," Iruka muttered, his gaze still directed at the floor. "Knots of chakra, just as if I had placed them there myself."

"I wonder if you can undo them in order?" The spike of dismay was mercifully brief, and Kakashi's deep-set inquisitiveness began to kick in. "Since we now seem to possess the same chakra signature."

"I can try. What kind of trap do you have there?"

Kakashi laughed a little, and then sobered up at the tight, bitter sound of it. He wasn't used to laughing. "It'll trip restraining bonds and a chakra-net."

"Simple, yet effective." Iruka nodded to himself. "And kinky."

"_What_?" Kakashi choked out but Iruka had returned his attention to the seals. He tapped at his lips with one finger and Kakashi found himself staring at the digit, how it pressed comfortably against the plump pillow of Iruka's mouth. Kakashi looked away, controlling his breathing with an unusual effort. He felt another quick glance from Iruka and then, intrusively, a slow bear down on the bond they shared. "Unlock it," Kakashi snapped, and the curious pressure eased considerably.

"All right, fine. The first obvious seal to undo would be the one by the door-handle, but you're not the obvious type of person, are you?" Iruka sounded as if he was postulating aloud, so Kakashi didn't see the need to respond. "And since the one on the bottom is in the opposite position, that's too obvious as well." Iruka reached out and swirled his finger at the position where the hinge-seal was, undoing it. He seemed as surprised as Kakashi when it unfurled easily.

"And next?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka bit his lip and Kakashi felt their bond curl in his groin. Iruka's breath was soft, but quickening; the palm of his hand was damp against Kakashi's. Their fingers were trembling against each other's and Kakashi felt the bond urge him to just touch Iruka, feel his skin, breathe in his scent... lick his skin, nibble his lips-

"The handle next, and then the bottom one." Iruka undid them quickly, grabbed the handle and pushed his way in, dragging Kakashi after him. Kakashi opened his mouth to coolly point out that this was _his_ house, after all, but Iruka pressed him against the wall with surprising speed.

Kakashi pushed back, and they both gasped when their hips collided. Kakashi was aghast to realize that he began to harden.

Iruka said, very breathlessly, "I'm so sorry, Kakashi, I can't—"

What he _couldn't_, Kakashi didn't know and would probably not ever find out, for Iruka shut his eyes and then reached for his mask, pulling it down to his chin. His mouth was on Kakashi's a hot breath later, hard and persistent. Kakashi actually felt his knees buckle at the harsh perfection of it, and a clinical part of his brain acknowledged the powerful demands of the seal.

He shrugged off his pack and heard Iruka's hit the floor as well, before he grabbed at Iruka's shoulder and slid his hand up to cup the back of the other man's head. Iruka pulled off his forehead-protector, then Kakashi's and dropped them both before returning to his mission of ravaging Kakashi again. Kakashi let him for a few moments, and then pulled back. They were both breathing hard, as if they were surfacing after being underwater for almost too long. Iruka's lips looked bruised and wet, and helplessly, Kakashi leaned in for another brief exploration with teeth and tongue.

"I don't want this," he bit out against Iruka's mouth, and their bond sang so loudly in his ears that he felt them ring. He groaned when Iruka's tongue darted into his mouth. He hadn't expected Iruka to kiss like this, with such heated intensity. Kakashi had been kissed a few times in his life, but never like this. Iruka kissed as if he would _die_ if he couldn't get more of Kakashi.

With their seal, it was likely that they might _indeed_ perish if their bond wasn't consummated.

"I know," Iruka muttered and he rocked against Kakashi, his breath falling hot on Kakashi's cheek and lips. "I know, but we have to. I'm—"

"Stop talking," Kakashi growled and shook off the Iruka's hand, the one he had been holding all this while. Iruka shuddered and leaned forward, pressing their bare foreheads together. They stood there for a few moments, until they began to breathe more regularly.

"Okay," Iruka said and put his hands on Kakashi's hips, his eyes still closed. Kakashi was grateful for that, at the very least. "Okay. Let's… take this slow."

"Fine with me," Kakashi tried to drawl, but his voice trembled shamefully. How he hated this, feeling so out of control, his body rebelling against common sense.

"Have you ever had sex before?" Iruka asked and his lips twitched up even though he couldn't see Kakashi's withering glare. "With a man, I mean."

"No," Kakashi said; he gazed at how Iruka's dark lashes were still swept down.

"Okay. But…have you ever thought about it?"

Kakashi sighed. "I had a crush on my sensei as a boy," he admitted. "I…felt very deeply for him."

Iruka put his hands against Kakashi's neck and tugged the mask back into place. He rest his palms on Kakashi's cheeks, maintaining the skin-to-skin contact with his thumbs as he leaned back, opening his eyes.

"I'm not sure if there's anyone who _didn't_ have a crush on Minato-sama," he said. "He was so bright and…always smiling."

Kakashi nodded, not willing to share anything about that time of his life. Not yet, anyway.

"So…if Minato-sama asked, and if he hadn't been married, would you have been willing?"

"Maybe," Kakashi grunted. "But that was because it was _him._"

Iruka stared at him, and that furtive emotion came funnelling through their bond, but Kakashi still couldn't pinpoint what it was, or what it meant. Kakashi kept his body inflexible, even though Iruka seemed to be melting against him like warm honey, sweet and slow. His dark hair fell loosely around his face, and he seemed utterly lovely. Damn this seal, which bound their chakra and emotions so tightly together.

"I'm not him," Iruka murmured and simply stopped there.

Kakashi looked at him, and then averted his gaze, concentrating on a point somewhere above Iruka's left shoulder. His home was silent around them, and probably dusty from all those weeks of neglect.

"The seal demands physical interaction, increasing in intensity until fulfilment," Kakashi reminded him, keeping his tones as clipped as he could. "Touching, kissing, sexual intercourse."

"We've touched. We've kissed. Do you feel up to having intercourse?"

"Honestly, no," Kakashi said, unreasonably irked by Iruka's soft and reasonable calm. He'd always seen Iruka yelling or otherwise in the grip of some high emotion; this level of self-possession, in the face of Kakashi's uneasiness and arousal, was unsettling.

"We might as well have it now, instead of waiting for the bond to force us." Iruka smiled when Kakashi met his gaze again, startled. "Yes, Kakashi, I _do _remember the information you reported to the Godaime."

Kakashi bit his lip; Iruka's gaze flicked to the movement before returning to lock with his.

"We don't have to have penetration," Iruka told him, and stepped back, letting his hands trace down Kakashi's arms until they found his gloved hands again. "I guess that's the cause of your panic."

"I don't panic," Kakashi said.

"Right." Iruka's expression was wry and a bit tired. "I want to get clean. Show me your bathroom? And I hope you have extra clothes, since you didn't even give me a chance to stop at my own house."

Kakashi inhaled and exhaled in measured breaths. This was a mission; treat it like a mission, he kept telling himself.

"Follow me."


	4. Shirayuri

The bath was so awkward, for quite a few reasons. First of all, taking a soak together was quite out of the question, so Iruka had to content himself with the most brisk wash he had ever undertaken after a mission, still grasping one of Kakashi's hands. They had tried letting go for a moment and stepping away from each other. Iruka had blacked out on the floor of Kakashi's small bathroom; he had come back to a painful consciousness to see Kakashi doing the same, slumped beside him against the wall with his long, pale fingers rubbing at the bridge of his mask-covered nose.

"Right, so none of that as yet," Iruka had said, and then they'd managed to work together so he could pull off his jacket and shirt. His clothing smelled of smoke and sweat, with that tinge of sour adrenaline and Iruka dumped the lot into Kakashi's clothes'-hamper without asking. He was looking around for a towel of some sort, when he felt warm fingers touch his left shoulder. He sighed at the quick touch, and screwed his eyes shut for a moment, locking out the view of Kakashi's tub tucked into a corner, and the small sunken area beside it where one could wash off the dirt of the day before going to lounge in the tub.

"What _is_ this?" he heard Kakashi say in a low whisper and Iruka smiled a little.

"A tattoo," he said, and looked over his shoulder at the other man. Kakashi's exposed eyebrow was lifted in what Iruka hoped was an impressed arc.

"Clearly. But... it takes up your entire back," Kakashi pointed out and shook his head. "I noticed some of it before, when we were at Archer. I know most of us have ink, but _this_-"

"It started as a dare." Iruka lifted his left shoulder. "The dragon's head on this side... and it just spread from there."

'Spread' was an understatement. The fierce dragon breathed gusts of wind on the back of his left bicep, and then its neck wound up and around his arm. It stacked its thick, black coils all over his back before its tail ended on the back of his right arm with an indolent tilt of its spikes. The scar formed by Mizuki's giant shuriken marred the perfection of its scales, but Iruka kind of liked the effect. Few persons knew of it, and his clothing always covered the ink. He found he was a bit tickled by the knowledge that it was there; most people would be surprised a chuunin-sensei would have such an elaborate tattoo.

Besides, he liked getting inked. The pain was almost negligible in comparison to what he underwent sometimes on missions, almost relaxing and every session had its cathartic purpose.

Kakashi's fingers dragged over his skin again, and Iruka shuddered. "Please stop that. It's making a bad situation even worse."

"My apologies," Kakashi murmured, but his touch remained on Iruka's upper back a beat too long. "Surprising."

"That's my aim in life, to turn people's expectations of me on their heads." Iruka quickly removed the wrappings from his upper thigh and pulled off his trousers, hoping Kakashi would still be fixated on the dragon and not notice his full body blush. He was naked in another man's bathroom, with the prospect of some kind of sex in the _very_ near future.

This was a situation he was fairly familiar with... apart from the whole Kakashi aspect, and the fact that the seal was stoking the desire. _A mission_, he reminded himself futilely, but a busy part of his mind contributed all the vague fantasies he'd ever had about the elusive Copy-nin. He exerted a superhuman control over these fantasies, for if he could read Kakashi's annoyance with him at times, Kakashi would probably pick up on the truthful edge to his feelings.

The fact was that Iruka didn't have to be pushed too far by their bond. Not too far at all.

"What other expectations do people have of you?" Kakashi asked, standing and gazing off at the blue tiles of the wall while Iruka squatted and tried to scrub every inch of himself clean. Kakashi's legs were covered with a fine, pale layer of hair and they tickled Iruka's side as he twisted to rub at his ankles. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"I don't mind." Iruka placed the wet cloth across his upper thigh, rubbing the bar of soap over it slowly. "I suppose they expect me to be quiet and agreeable." He smiled when he heard Kakashi's incredulous huff. "But you of all people should know by now that that is far from the truth."

"As the east is from the west," Kakashi agreed.

"And you?"

Kakashi shifted, and Iruka could almost feel the weight of his stare on his back. "And me, _what_?"

"What do people expect of you?"

There was a long pause; Iruka actually managed to finish his wash and stand up, gratefully grasping the towel Kakashi held out backwards. He mopped at his skin fruitlessly and settled for hitching it around his waist in a fairly haphazard fashion.

"They expect me to do my duty," Kakashi finally answered in a monotone.

"_Boring_." Iruka informed him, moving his arm around helpfully so that Kakashi could undress himself; there were moments when Kakashi had to switch hands to manoeuvre his sleeves, just as Iruka had to before. "Let me tell you what people expect of Hatake Kakashi. They expect power, mystery...a touch of suavity."

"I'm pretty sure 'suavity' is not a word," Kakashi drawled as Iruka stood out of the way and turned at an angle so he could take his turn at washing. He had caught a glimpse of Kakashi's strong jawline and wanted to just...lick it.

"How dare you," Iruka scolded faintly, entranced by how Kakashi's hair fell, now that it wasn't held up at a rakish angle by his forehead-protector. "I'm a teacher.'Suavity' is definitely a word. But you're pretty far from suave, yourself."

Kakashi went still for just one moment, but a small fringe of affront tickled at the link of their chakra before he continued his bath. "Is that so?"

"Yes. You're very rude and domineering," Iruka said, unable to stop his mouth once it got going. It was his greatest weakness, one of his sensei had wearily told him one day after school, when he had gotten into yet another fight. "And you think you can trod over other people just because they're not as _strong_ as you are-"

His snark stopped in mid-chatter as Kakashi turned off the running water and stood up, pulling him around so that they faced each other. Kakashi's face without his mask... well, Iruka had been expecting some kind of devastating beauty, and in a way it was. Kakashi had thin scar along his lower left jaw, very faint. His nose was narrow and sharp, and slightly crooked, and he had his normal eye open; how he managed to keep the Sharingan covered by his other eyelid and not look like he was scrunching up that half of his face was beyond Iruka, but he was pulling it off just fine. There was an obvious delineation where his mask prevented the lower half of his face from tanning as much as the upper section, but Iruka figured it would even out after a day or so inside.

"If you're done with all the critique, Iruka-sensei, I think we should just get to the sex."

Iruka gaped at him and then managed to close his mouth, swallowing hard and trying to control his breathing against the excited expectation. Kakashi was _naked_, and Iruka manfully did not look down.

"Oh...well. Great." Iruka blinked at him. "Like I said, we don't have to have any penetration-"

"Good." Kakashi shook his head in a quick, almost dismissive motion and managed not to look right into Iruka's eyes at the same time.

"-but we still need lubricant. That thick healing oil should work."

Kakashi blinked twice. "I think I have a bottle around here, somewhere."

"All right." Iruka took a quick, bracing breath and stepped right into Kakashi's space, letting his towel fall to the floor. Kakashi made a soft noise of complaint in the back of his throat, but Iruka reached down between them and touched the warm, soft skin of his penis. Kakashi jerked back, twisting Iruka's hand up and away. Iruka let his arm be hauled like that, knowing that if he tried to resist such a move he would risk serious injury. After a few beats, Kakashi returned his hand to its appropriate position in an apologetic fashion.

Slowly, Iruka reached for him again. Their bond clamoured for more and _now_, but despite his almost detached air, Kakashi was wound tight, almost at the brink of springing away like a startled cat. As a matter of fact, he did look like a suspicious feline, eye narrowed at Iruka and broad shoulders hunched. Nevertheless, his free hand reached out and settled on the dip of Iruka's waist, fingers twitching for a brief moment before they went still. Kakashi looked down at his own hand and then, in a deliberate move, shifted his gaze to consider Iruka's growing erection.

Iruka exhaled slowly and placed his hand on Kakashi's waist as well, thumb rubbing smoothing circles into Kakashi's skin. Kakashi relaxed even more, and looked back at him.

Iruka slid his hand up Kakashi's side, feeling the lean muscle before resting his hand on Kakashi's chest, his thumb pressing against a pert pink nipple. He ducked down impulsively and put his lips around the beguiling bit of flesh. Kakashi's body did that all-over flinch again, and he moaned softly when Iruka sucked a little bit harder. Iruka pulled back, and looked up in his face. The skin of Kakashi's cheeks was flushed red.

"That's okay?" Iruka asked, gently.

Kakashi stared at him and then moved his head up and down, like someone in a dream. "How about the other one?" he croaked out, and Iruka laughed. Of course Kakashi would want his nipples treated equally, and he obliged the man. Kakashi's hand tightened around his and Iruka moved up, pressing slow kisses to his finely-made collarbone and up his neck. When Iruka reached his jaw, Kakashi turned his head and pressed his lips to Iruka's in an awkwardly hesitant kiss. Iruka wanted to shove him against the wall and rut against him, but that would probably put Kakashi off the idea of intercourse for an entire week or so. However, he had actually instigated _that kiss_, and it was enough to make Iruka absolutely rock-hard; he was pleased to note that Kakashi was becoming aroused as well, the damp head of his cock stroking against Iruka's upper thigh now and again.

"Lube?" Iruka asked pointedly, and shifted when Kakashi reached over his shoulder to pull at the mirror, swinging it out to retrieve a dark-green glass bottle from the recess. He held it right in front of Iruka's nose and Iruka grasped it with fingers that felt weak. He stepped back, leading Kakashi out of the messy bathroom and out towards his bedroom, where a neatly made bed awaited them. Iruka walked backwards with a confidence he didn't feel, looking right into Kakashi's face, even though the jounin was staring at everywhere else but in his eyes. When he felt the edge of the bed against the back of his legs, Iruka slid his arms around Kakashi's neck and kissed him thoroughly.

Kakashi kissed him back, and allowed himself to be dragged down onto the bed, sprawled atop Iruka. He held himself away, or he tried to for a few moments, but Iruka wrapped his legs around Kakashi's waist and did a slow, rolling thrust that had Kakashi groaning against his mouth. Iruka smirked; he was pretty good at this, and he'd been complimented regularly by his lovers. As if he had read Iruka's mind, Kakashi drew back and frowned down at him.

"How many men have you slept with?"

"Why, Kakashi," Iruka said in a rather coy manner, and he made sure to stare right at Kakashi's face, "What makes you think I'm the kind of person to kiss and tell?"

"We're bonded," Kakashi pointed out. "I think I have the right to know something like that."

Iruka let his head fall back on the bed and exhaled in annoyance. "Fine. Three."

"Names and rank."

"What?" Iruka stared up at him, and then concentrated on the link between them, at the fine sliver of emotion he found there. "Are you..._jealous_?"

"It's the bond," Kakashi explained curtly as his gaze roamed over Iruka's face.

"Nice to know." Iruka went up on his elbows and then did his rolling hip thing again. Kakashi's eyelid fluttered, but he went right back to his expectant expression. "Fine! Uchiha Inabi, Konoha Military Police. He was my first lover."

"You lie," Kakashi breathed, actually sitting back and staring at Iruka as if he was a completely different species. "He was-"

"He was arrogant and talented, like any other Uchiha," Iruka told him. "And he didn't have a problem with taking the virginity of a teen-aged chuunin." Iruka tilted his head, shrugging; Kakashi's gaze darted to the movement of the tattoos on his upper arms and then traced its way back to his face. "I was...upset when he was killed."

Kakashi nodded. "Who else?"

"Why are we even having this conversation _now_?" Iruka wondered and sighed at Kakashi's set expression. "Ogano, civilian. He was... _amazing_."

"Next," Kakashi growled and pressed down his hips. Iruka gasped as they slid against each other and Kakashi's eye went half-lidded; he licked his lips. "Quickly, sensei."

"Namiashi Raidō, tokujō," Iruka snapped and then wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck, for all this warm skin against his was driving him crazy. He still had the bottle in one hand, but it was half-forgotten as he kissed and writhed under Kakashi, murmuring sweet nonsense when Kakashi ventured to kiss his ear.

"As your dearly bonded, will I be informed of all _your_ past lovers?"

"Maybe," Kakashi answered. Iruka made a face and then pushed at Kakashi, urging him to sit back on his heels. Iruka sat up himself, and pulled the cork of the bottle, pouring some of the thick liquid into his palm. Under Kakashi's heavy and curious stare, he smeared it on his inner thighs, quite liberally. Then, he capped the bottle and let it roll to the headboard, lying back and wriggling until his legs were pressed straight together.

"How does this work?" Kakashi sounded as if Iruka had outlined a circumspect battle-plan.

"Slide your cock in between my thighs," Iruka answered, deciding that with a person like Kakashi, blunt was always the best route.

"Ah." Kakashi stared down at Iruka's legs, seeming to tally the sum of his crotch. Iruka's cock twitched under his inspection, the show-off. "Very well."

Iruka kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling, trying to instill a clinical mindset, but he exhaled as Kakashi pushed in between his thighs. Non-penetrative, of course, but it was still amazing, the sensation of Kakashi's hard prick sliding against his skin, slow and uncertain at first, then picking up in both speed and confidence. Iruka undulated, keeping his legs close together so that Kakashi could get that tight sensation.

"Wow," Kakashi groaned, and Iruka agreed in a moan. Kakashi paused shifted up and Iruka felt his shaft rub on the underside of Iruka's scrotum. "Amazing."

"Mmm, yes." Iruka rest his hands lightly on Kakashi's waist, fingers splayed. "Like it?"

"Almost like with a woman," Kakashi said, holding himself over Iruka by his hands anchored on either side of Iruka's head. A bit like doing a push-up, but that was nothing.

"Surprisingly soft." He went back to thrusting, and Iruka closed his eyes, imagining Kakashi actually _inside_ him, their bodies entwined so closely that they would hardly be moving at all, just shifting slowly together. The greedy commands of the bond began to fade as Iruka drew closer to the edge, arching up in a desperate need to get more of Kakashi's skin against his. Too bad Kakashi wasn't kissing him, or stroking him...well, maybe that would have been a bad thing. He probably would have come faster in such a case.

"Couldn't you henge into a more feminine form?"

Iruka's eyes snapped open and he glared, even though he was shivering on the edge of release; only Kakashi would be so bluntly offensive during _sex_. "Couldn't _you _henge into less of an asshole? Just...ah, hurry. Hurry up. Yes."

"Fuck," Kakashi swore and thrust even faster, and Iruka scrabbled for the lubricant; he simply tried drizzling some more over his thighs, hoping some would be pushed in with Kakashi's movements, but his hand was shaking, his whole _body_ was caught up in a fine tremor. He let out a sharp cry when Kakashi collapsed right on top of him, still moving with jack-knife jabs of his hips against Iruka's. Kakashi's mouth was pressed against his shoulder as warm come spurted between his thighs. The sensation of that tipped Iruka right over, gripping at Kakashi's sweaty back and bucking up as he came.

Iruka let Kakashi's weight press him into the bed for a few moments as they lay there for a few moments, breathing hard. Then, Kakashi raised himself up on his elbows, looking down at Iruka with a shadowed expression. Iruka reached up and stroked his cheek with a small smile.

"Good?" he whispered and Kakashi nodded. "And I didn't even need to henge into a woman," he teased.

Kakashi still didn't say anything. He rolled off Iruka and stretched out beside him, all lean lines and glistening skin. Iruka felt himself twitch in tired appreciation. Iruka tugged on the sheet, pulling it up so he could get the end to wipe between his thighs. Then he shuffled out of the wet-spot, moved his hand a bit so that it covered Kakashi's fingers and very determinedly, fell asleep.

* * *

_**AN: **Iruka's tattoos were inspired by a fanart called 'Kakairu 2' by Kristal on y!Gallery: yaoi.y-gallery.*net*/*view*/*292804/ (without the asterisks). It's not explicit, but probably not worksafe and you might need an account to see it. I hope the artist doesn't delete it, I think it's lovely. Ruthea at deviantArt created an awesome fanart for this fic and I'm so grateful for it: ruthea.*deviantart*.com*/#/*d2z9twn (again, without the ____asterisks _and again, it's not too explicit but it's also probably not worksafe).


	5. Ajisai

Kakashi woke up five minutes before dawn the next morning and acknowledged the unusual presence curled around his body like a persistent vine. Usually, if by rare chance he had allowed someone into his home, she would have been long gone by now, ushered out the front door right after they'd finished having sex. No one had ever slept with him like this before, truly _slept _as Iruka was doing now; he was limply draped all over Kakashi as if he had every right, emitting soft snores against Kakashi's shoulder. He considered pushing Iruka off, but decided against it. No need to disturb his own comfort and risk an irate Iruka.

Iruka mumbled and shifted away a bit, his legs still tangled with Kakashi's. He kept one brown arm flung over Kakashi's chest; his hold tightened briefly before slackening again.

Kakashi inspected him very closely, knowing through their linked chakra that he was still asleep. Iruka's hair obscured his face, a messy dark tangle; Kakashi reached out and brushed it away. It wasn't as monochromatic as the first, distance glance presumed; at this proximity, Kakashi could detect strands of lighter brown hiding in the darker mass. He probably gained that from being out in the sun with his students regularly. Kakashi tucked some of it behind his ear; his face was so still and calm in rest, but Kakashi recalled the way his eyes glinted when he was arguing with Kakashi, or how dazed they were after the sex last night.

Kakashi turned his head and stared up at the low ceiling, and blinked as a slow dawning occurred in the back of his mind: Iruka was waking up, and their bond was helpfully informing him of that fact.

Iruka cleared his throat a few times, and wriggled around before he opened his eyes and blinked at Kakashi.

"Morning," he said in a still sleep-rough voice and the sound of it went straight to Kakashi's groin. Iruka scratched at his stomach and Kakashi glanced down their bodies, catching sight of Iruka's cock, lying limp against his upper thigh, nestled in a thatch of wiry dark hair. Kakashi averted his gaze; now that he wasn't caught up in the throes of the bond, he was uncomfortable with the fact that he had had sex with a man.

Not that the man in question was hard on the eyes. Iruka obviously kept up his training; he was a bit more muscular than Kakashi, who considered himself too skinny (and too lazy) to carry more weight than he needed. Although Kakashi was considered strong, chakra-wise, most of his moves depended on speed. Iruka looked as if he was fairly capable in close and extended hand-to-hand combat.

During their mission, Iruka had also proven to be quick-thinking and...well, he saved those two children. In hindsight, Kakashi could appreciate selfless acts such as that one.

Iruka went up on one elbow and knuckled at one eye, squinted at Kakashi with the other. The dragon on his upper arm leered at Kakashi. "What time is it?"

"Now? Two minutes past five."

"Mmm. Extended holiday from school." Iruka slid back down onto the flat pillow, smiling slightly. "I'll probably be chewing holes in your wall by about ten o'clock."

"You like teaching that much?" Kakashi rolled his head in his direction, and snorted in amusement as a wide yawn overcame Iruka for a moment.

"Love it." Iruka grinned at him. "I find I work better with human beings under fourteen years of age. They make more sense, sometimes."

"I make sense," Kakashi told him and Iruka's expression composed itself into lines of sheer disbelief. Kakashi rolled his eyes, and tried not to wonder too hard about how comfortable this felt, to be lounging in bed in the middle of the week with another man. The bond was like some kind of tranquilizer, soothing away most of Kakashi's worries by translating Iruka's proximity into a necessary component to Kakashi's peace of mind. It was such a powerful seal, Kakashi thought, not for the last time.

Iruka was kicking at his legs under the covers and Kakashi stared at him, incredulous at his daring. Few people would think of _kicking_ Sharingan no Kakashi. Then again, there were few who would be pressed against him in bed at dawn.

"I want food," Iruka demanded, and his smile was a mischievous curl. "I think, as your dearly bonded, _and_ as a guest in your house, you owe me breakfast."

**. . .**

Kakashi's cupboards were bare: there was only a clear bag on the shelf above the sink which contained loose tea-leaves; they appeared quite suspicious to Iruka.

Kakashi refused to go outside. "I'll summon one of my ninken to get some food."

Iruka opened his mouth to snark at a range of issues: the lack of food; Kakashi's obvious aversion to go outside and head to the market quickly, even if they had to be holding hands; the fact that he appeared to own only one clean yukata. Then, he closed his mouth. He had been snapping at Kakashi all this time (he was a snappy kind of person) and maybe...he could give it a rest.

At least he had given Iruka the clean yukata to wear, while he sported some odd green shirt which he claimed Guy had given him for a gift. The shirt was loose and long, falling almost to the middle of his legs. Iruka stifled the urge to laugh at the odd clothing, but Kakashi's sharp glance indicated he'd picked up on some of Iruka's amusement, no matter how Iruka tried to appear serene.

"All right," Iruka said even as he tried to ignore the pale shapeliness of his calves. They sat in the lumpy couch and Kakashi's exposed eye settled on him for a questioning moment. His other eye and mouth were covered by a dark-green scarf, wrapped neatly and knotted firmly in the back by Iruka after their shower this morning; that had been an interesting operation, since Kakashi let his hands settle on Iruka's waist; his hands had been so warm. Iruka had tried to convince him to share a bath, instead of going one after another, but Kakashi had flatly refused. How Iruka _longed_ for a soak.

"All right," Kakashi echoed, very slowly. Iruka watched as he bit at his thumb; Iruka slid his hand down to the crook of Kakashi's elbow so he could perform the necessary seals.

When he leaned forward to place his hands on the floor, Iruka said, "Whoa!" and shuddered. He was keenly aware of the chakra as it was manipulated for the summoning. It was such an alien sensation, as if his body was in two places at once.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked as the smoke puffed importantly around them.

"I felt that," Iruka said and exhaled shakily. "Your chakra. I _felt_ it."

"You did?"

Before Kakashi could answer, a smooth voice accosted him.

"Boss?"

A slender brown dog sporting a blue vest, white bandages wrapped around her head, sat on the floor right in front of them; she blinked up at them both.

"Ūhei," Kakashi said, not looking away from Iruka's face. He had the expression of one who was doing some difficult calculations in his head. "I'd like you to go to Tenzō's, ask him to carry some food over for me. More than usual, too."

"Again?" Ūhei grumped, but she was staring at Iruka as well. "What's _he_ doing here, Boss? And what's up with the hand thing?"

"We're bonded."

"What?"

"Kind of married… by the chakra."

"What?"

"_Mated_," Kakashi growled, finally turning to glare at his unrepentant ninken. "We're mated, but it was an accident."

"How can you mate by accident?" Ūhei asked. "Boss, that's not right _at all_. And how could you have bonded without telling us? Don't humans date first? Boss, you are so weird."

"Ūhei, when I need your commentary on my personal life, I'll consult you," Kakashi said, but it was in the manner of a long-suffering parent. Iruka bit his lip, trying not to laugh _again_. However, from the glower Kakashi sent to him, Iruka still needed to work on that some more. "Just _go fetch Tenzō_."

"Should I tell him that you're mated with Iruka-sensei?"

Kakashi swallowed, hard. "Whatever, Ūhei," he drawled, but Iruka picked up on the embarrassment. He didn't think he would ever stop feeling so amazed; Kakashi looked so uncaring most of the time; even now, with his face covered in his own home, he appeared lethargic, but Iruka knew that he was just a bubbling pot of emotions.

"Okay, Boss," Ūhei finally agreed, and disappeared in a far smaller cloud. Kakashi returned his focus to Iruka, frowning.

"You said you felt my chakra moving?"

Iruka nodded. "Yes…but at the same time, it felt like it was my own."

Kakashi went very still, absorbing the information.

"Maybe I can try summoning another one of your ninken." Iruka actually held his breath after the suggestion; a shinobi's summons were very personal. It was like having sex, it was such an intimate act. However, Kakashi nodded.

"Do you need any of my blood?"

"Let's try with mine, first," Iruka said and let go of Kakashi's elbow. Without missing a beat, Kakashi's hand found its place on his forearm. "Which hand is your primary?"

"The left."

Iruka nodded, and bit his own thumb. Then, he went through the hand-signs for the summoning jutsu, bending to slap his hands on the floor, left palm first. He focused his thoughts firmly on Kakashi's dogs, _any_ of them. He heard Kakashi's quick inhalation beside him even as he felt their chakra whip out into the ether, locking on to one of the ninken and pulling it into their plane. The smoke of its entry filled the air in front of them, and when it cleared, Iruka raised his eyebrows at the mournful expression of a big bulldog.

"Hello, Bull," Kakashi said, holding out his free hand in the dog's direction. Iruka looked at his fingers, how slender and long they seemed without his gloves. The dog ambled over and sniffed at those fingers before giving them a quick, affable lick. Kakashi rubbed his neck. "How are you, my friend?"

"Good," Bull said in a surprisingly gentle manner, considering his size and that spiked collar he sported. He looked at Iruka. "Hello."

"Hello," Iruka said, grinning. This one was very polite, at least. "My name is Iruka."

"Yes, Sensei. We know of you."

Iruka tilted his head. "All of the ninken?"

Bull moved his head up and down, ponderously wise. "From Pakkun." He leaned a bit closer. "He's chatty."

"I see." Iruka leaned in too, conspirators sharing secrets. "Well…I'm your boss's new… um. Mate."

Bull considered him for a very long time. "Oh," was all he offered, and was silent for a few more beats, before he finally spoke up again. "Welcome, Boss."

"Hey," Kakashi said, rubbing at Bull's ruff again. "He gets 'Boss' too?"

"Isn't he the same as you, Boss?" Bull asked and squinted at Iruka. "Smells like you. Chakra feels like yours, but different at the same time. He called me here, didn't he? Anyway, he's 'Boss', too."

"That's the most I've ever heard you say in one sentence, Bull," Kakashi pointed out, laughing. The sound of his amusement made Iruka want to melt against his side; Kakashi glanced in his direction, still smiling underneath his scarf. When he noticed Iruka's stare, he quickly averted his eyes, and his laughter became strained.

Iruka cleared his throat."Well, let's call me Iruka-boss, just so we know who you're talking to."

"No problem, Iruka-Boss."

Kakashi huffed. "You can go, Bull."

Bull returned to his plane with a quiet _puff_, and Kakashi leaned back against the back of the sofa. "He's as bad as Pakkun, you know. When we see any of the other dogs, they'll have a lot of questions for you, so be prepared."

"I think I might manage," Iruka said with a smile. "You're talking to the man who explains where babies come from to six-year-olds. Shinobi parents," he confided in a lower tone, "are such vicious fighters in the battlefield, and yet they get all tongue-tied when their kids want to know about sex. 'Iruka-sensei!' (and here he dropped the pitch of his voice, mimicking the crackly rumble of some father) 'Here's my little one, he wants to know why girls have vaginas, I'll pick him up later, bye!'"

"You are _not_ serious," Kakashi said, but he had one hand held up in front of his mouth as he started to laugh freely again, even though he had the scarf wrapped up all the way under his nose. Iruka thought that it was the most charming thing he'd ever seen; he wanted to make Kakashi laugh like that, to see his cheeks flushed and his eye twinkling.

All the time.

"I'm serious. So gossipy ninken will be a breeze, don't you think?"

Kakashi was still laughing, even when Iruka reached out and plucked at the fold of cloth which wrapped over his mouth. He exposed that wide, pretty mouth, the corners of which were tilted up.

"Can I kiss you?" Iruka whispered, leaning in anyway. Kakashi went abruptly still, and so did he, poised with his head tilted and his lips a bare inch from Kakashi's. Iruka could feel his struggle through the bond, a battle between the seal's demands and Kakashi's comfort level. Iruka sighed and prepared to pull back, but Kakashi's fingers tightened over his.

"You can—" Kakashi inhaled deeply and then exhaled. "Kiss me."

Iruka didn't wait; he ducked in fast and hard, swallowing Kakashi's quick gasp almost mercilessly. He felt Kakashi's hand grip at his shoulder as if he couldn't decide whether to shove or pull, but his eyes were closed when Iruka pulled back a little, surveying his kiss-bruised mouth and the way his oddly dark lashes fluttered. He was preparing himself for another round, when the guard-seals tickled their joined chakra and Kakashi's front door was kicked open; Yamato, obviously given clearance by the seals, stomped in with what seemed to be five years' worth of groceries perched precariously in the circle of his arms.

"All right, so I know I told you that I'd give an eye to your place and help stock your cupboards _that one time,"_ Yamato groused, as if he had been having a normal conversation with Kakashi all along. "But this is really getting ridiculous, Kakashi-sempai."

He dumped the bags onto the narrow counter and turned around, brushing off the sleeves of his shirt with quick, fastidious movements. Then, he put his hands on his hips and stared at Kakashi and Iruka. Iruka could see why Naruto complained about Yamato-taichou freaking him out, and at the thought of his blond, loud, pseudo-son, he groaned internally. When he got back to Konoha with Sakura, Naruto would probably go ballistic when he heard about Iruka's bonding.

"I thought Ūhei was joking when she told me the Boss got married to Iruka-sensei," Yamato said, both his eyebrows lifted in the air. "Are you?"

"Well, married is _such_ a strong word, Tenzō-kun," Kakashi said languidly; his body slouched down in the couch even more, despite the tense wryness going through the bond at Iruka. "We were sealed on a mission. You know how these things go."

"How do these things _happen_ to you?" Yamato burst out, and flung his hands up in the air like an exasperated parent. Iruka blinked at him and then glanced at Kakashi, who shrugged. "Can't you come back from a mission _once_ without being all chakra-depleted or cut up to pieces or… or—"

"Or bonded?" Iruka suggested. "Because he does that often, I imagine."

Yamato sighed very heavily. "At least he got bonded to someone sensible," he muttered and then offered Iruka a wavery smile. "Well…congratulations?"

"Thanks," Iruka said, gravely. He was having a hard time not smiling, though, and he was glad to feel Kakashi's now impish glee seeping sweetly through him. Apparently, one of Kakashi's goals in life was to give his kōhai some kind of ulcer as soon as possible. "I guess I'm here to watch his back, and I'll do my best. Hopefully he won't get into so much trouble in the future."

"Huh." Yamato nodded slowly. "That actually sounds kind of nice."

"It does," Kakashi agreed, but when Iruka turned to stare at him, he looked and felt twice as surprised at what he'd just said.


	6. Haibīsukasu

Yamato cooked dinner, grumbling all the while, and Kakashi leaned against the counter, instructing him all the way. Iruka stood behind him, looking on as Kakashi complained about how he hated too much pepper and he didn't like green onions and he didn't like carrots, even as Yamato viciously threw all those ingredients into the bubbling pot. It was a ritual between them, and Kakashi wondered how Iruka viewed their banter.

Well, he had an idea; he could feel Iruka's amusement and a strange brand of wistfulness twisting through their chakra. It was interesting how he was starting to catalogue most of Iruka's feelings. The other man had a very expressive face, unfortunate for a shinobi, but whatever was apparent on his face had multiple layers underneath, buried deeply; Kakashi still had problems sifting through them. He felt so wary at having another person's soul being peeled back for his perusal... like that onion Yamato was handling over there. Kakashi was even more discomfited at the idea that Iruka was reading him just as easily.

"I'm glad," Iruka suddenly said, so quietly that Yamato probably didn't hear, "that you have such a good friend."

"But I don't _want_ those dumplings!" Kakashi griped at Yamato and ducked the knife that was thrown at him. "Why would you feel so glad over that?" he muttered back at Iruka. "I can have friends."

Iruka snorted. "Of course. The great Sharingan no Kakashi with _friends_. I used to think that you simply had colleagues, or team-mates. Or people to get out of your way while you save the day."

Kakashi turned towards him, feeling unusually shaken by that comment. Iruka had been smiling, but the soft quirk of his lips faded away as their gazes locked.

"I—"

"I'm more than just the Sharingan, can't you understand that?" Kakashi hissed at him, and yanked his fingers away from Iruka's. It was petulant and childish, but he was feeling that way. They both reeled under the onslaught of the seal, his chakra howling painfully in his ears as his skin crawled with stripes of agony. At least they didn't black out, he thought with distant cynicism as Iruka groped for his hand. Tenzō would have to scrape them both off the floor, and he was already in a cranky mood.

"Until we get to the point where we don't need the physical contact," Iruka said in faint voice, "please don't do that again."

"Fine," Kakashi tried to snap back, but he felt just as weak as Iruka felt. He noticed that Tenzō observing them closely, his knife poised over the waiting vegetables. Kakashi twitched his shoulders and Tenzō twitched back, an entire conversation in itself, before he went back to his cooking.

"I'm sorry," Iruka murmured and Kakashi just looked at him. "I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did," Kakashi pointed out and actually found himself pouting. Iruka shot him an incredulous look and then smiled faintly.

"Fine, so I did. But it's not true. You do have friends." Iruka went back to smiling at him and Kakashi's gaze flickered down to his mouth for a brief second before looking in those wide, brown eyes again. "I used to dream about being your friend."

Kakashi felt as if someone could have used a feather and pushed him over. He raised his eyebrows, _both_ of them, and Iruka blushed, averting his gaze.

"I mean, who _didn't_ dream of that? Even as a kid, I'd hear stories about the Great and Fabulous Hatake Kakashi and..." he shrugged. "I wanted to be his friend."

"Oh." Kakashi couldn't find enough words right then, and he flailed about internally for what felt like five minutes too long. From the way the red flush faded from his cheeks and the amusement rippling from him, Iruka had grasped his current failure at coherency.

Kakashi finally raised their linked hands. "Well...when the seal gives us enough distance, we can still be friends."

Iruka's smile froze, and while the emotion coming from him was still mostly amusement, he seemed to be veiling another one from Kakashi's senses. Kakashi kept forgetting to do something like that, shielding his feelings. He had always kept himself a mystery using his mask and his general air of indifference...hiding his emotions had never been at the forefront of his quirks.

He wondered how Iruka had learned to do that so quickly.

"That would be nice," Iruka said, and then looked over Kakashi's shoulder. "Ready, Yamato?"

"Yes," Tenzō answered. Kakashi turned back to watch him ladle out broth into bowls; he was using a tea-cup because Kakashi did not own an _actual_ ladle. "Now, come on and tell me all about your seal."

So they did; as they ate, they sat close enough so that their bare ankles touched. Kakashi surreptitiously tipped the carrots into Iruka's bowl, not because he didn't like them, but because he enjoyed the long-suffering expression that Tenzō adopted. Iruka ate them with indulgent dignity and filled Tenzō in on their situation in between neat slurps. Kakashi tried not to look at his mouth; it seemed as if it called to him, begging for him to just lean forward and take the chopsticks out of Iruka's hand and-

"Interesting," Tenzō's considering voice cut through the haze of Kakashi's want. Iruka looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and he smiled in a coyly evil fashion.

Kakashi's mouth felt dry. He looked away.

"—and maybe you could both could pull off a collaboration jutsu." Tenzō finished, staring at them with a gleam of excitement in his dark eyes.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked. "You were saying?"

Tenzō glowered at him; Iruka chuckled. "I was _saying_, you both seem have a combined chakra now, because of the seal. But are your chakra-_natures_ the same, or dissimilar? Because if you do, then the way you manipulate the shared chakra will be different!"

Kakashi tilted his head and then nodded decisively. "You see? My amazing influence on him for all these years has emerged in this single streak of brilliance," he told Iruka, who laughed. "My work here is done."

"Kakashi's affinity is for lightning," Tenzō went on, ignoring Kakashi's jibe as he always did. "Yours, sensei?"

"Wind," Iruka answered and wrinkled his nose as Kakashi made a surprised sound in the back of his throat.

"Not Water?" he said and elbowed Iruka teasingly. He felt strangely light, and knew that it was because Iruka was in a good mood now; his bright feeling streaked into their seal and ricocheted all over the place. "Whatever will our little dolphin do out of his element?"

Iruka eyed his head in a distant manner, like a scientist observing a failed experiment. "I've just realized that your affinity may have some 'amazing influence' on your hairstyle."

"Hey!" Kakashi patted his hair in a wounded fashion. "I put a lot into looking this cool." He held his nose in the air and turned away haughtily, then squinted at his kōhai's stunned expression. "What? What is it?"

"I've never seen you so carefree," Tenzō said. "This bond is good for you."

Kakashi completely forgot to try the feelings-blocking thing, because Iruka definitely picked up on his unsettled reaction to Tenzō's comment.

"Maybe," Iruka said and deftly turned the conversation around."Let's go back to this collaboration-jutsu? I've covered it briefly in class, but—"

As he continued speaking, he absently rubbed the back of Kakashi's hand with his thumb.

Kakashi couldn't be faulted if their bond made Iruka's touch feel amazing.

**...**

Yamato was certainly a sensitive individual, Iruka concluded; he must have seen the intense, longing looks Iruka had been throwing in Kakashi's direction when Kakashi wasn't looking at him, and had taken his leave with promises of future visitations. _With_ food, he added with a grumpy expression and Iruka could feel Kakashi's naughty hilarity at the prospect of tormenting Yamato some more.

Iruka liked this side of him; it wasn't a facet of his character that was immediately apparent. From the time he was in the Academy, he had been regaled with the legend of this man. Whenever Kakashi had passed him on the street, Iruka had been unable to prevent his gaze from trailing after, watching that impossible hair being ruffled almost affectionately by the wind. Kakashi had been as inscrutable as the Hokage Monument and as unattainable as the Daimyo himself.

...and here Iruka was now, holding hands with this man who was both feared and revered, as _this man_ shut the door to his home and then stepped back, giving their joined hands a sidelong look.

Iruka cleared his throat. Kakashi looked up in his face and then looked away just as quickly. For a few awkward beats, they just stood there; Iruka easily piled most of his feelings back behind the wall he had built for himself as a teenager, when the Sandaime had informed him that he needed to find _some_ way to control his emotions. He could feel Kakashi's uncertainty broadcasted at him, and it was absolutely endearing.

Kakashi was inspecting a bit of peeling paint as he said, "Want to kiss me?" in a careless fashion, as if Iruka's answer didn't mean much to him either way. This wasn't true, of course. The push of the seal was increasing again, making its demands and tuning their bodies to each other.

_Oh yes,_ Iruka wanted to answer, but he simply asked, "Do you want me to kiss you?"

Kakashi's gaze snapped to his, his exposed eye widening by just a bare shiver, before the lid slouched down over it again. "If you want to."

Iruka felt his breath quickening, partly from the need to lick his way into Kakashi's mouth, and partly from a kind of dismay. Iruka entertained the notion of _not_ kissing him, before he stepped right up into Kakashi's space. He leaned forward and let his mouth rest on one sharp cheek, pulling away his hand and reaching around Kakashi's neck to work the knot of his scarf free.

The green cloth belled in front of Kakashi's mouth and then slipped down to hang in folds around his neck; the portion of it which Iruka had wound around the Sharigan eye remained in place. Iruka tilted his head, lips brushing so lightly against Kakashi's skin as he traced a path over the warm shelf of his jaw, down the long, strong line of his neck to rest against the quickening pulse in the shadowed curve. He pulled back, cupping Kakashi's face in both hands. His cheeks had gone faintly pink.

"Want me to kiss you again?" Iruka whispered, thumbs stroking his cheeks.

Kakashi nodded.

Iruka kissed the other side of his neck, pulling the neckline of his crazy shirt to the side so he could get at the middle of his shoulder. The tip of his tongue stole out, tasting Kakashi's skin.

"Again," Kakashi said, voice shaky and faint when Iruka raised his head, but he was already leaning in. Triumphantly, Iruka met him halfway and backed him up against the front door as they kissed. He took hold of Kakashi's wrists, holding them up and pinning them at either side of his head. Kakashi tried to free himself, but Iruka nipped at his bottom lip warningly before he allowed about an inch between them.

"Don't move your hands," he said and Kakashi gave him a vaguely withering look. Iruka clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth with mock severity. "Will I have to tie you up?"

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "I'd like to see you try."

"Ahh, you still doubt my prowess, I see." Iruka withdrew one hand and plucked a few hairs from the unbound mass around his shoulders. He noticed Kakashi kept his hand up, watching him closely as Iruka charged the strands with his chakra. Iruka paused and then searched for _Kakashi's_ chakra through their bond, grinning when he pulled some through and infused it with his, wrapping it tightly around the dark wisps.

Iruka felt Kakashi's surprise and a healthy dose of curiosity.

"I want to try that," he said. Iruka placed one of the strands around his wrists, watching as it moulded around the pale limb and pulled it back against the wood.

"That would be handy in battle. I could pull some of your chakra and gain some—" He broke off when he realized that his other wrist was now bound with nothing more than Iruka's hair, and he frowned even more when he tugged at them both and there was no give. "Release me."

Iruka knelt down at his feet, looking up at him with what he hoped was a soothing expression. "You can free yourself easily, but...you might like this."

"I don't like being restrained."

"Have you ever tried it?" Iruka touched his ankles and Kakashi breathed in, sharply. Iruka smiled, and stroked the curve of the bone. "I won't hurt you. Trust me. Please."

"What purpose is it to tie me up during..._this_?"

Iruka sat back on his ankles, staring up Kakashi's lean form, currently covered by that long green shirt. He kept contact with Kakashi's feet, brow wrinkled a little at the sharpness in both Kakashi's tone and in the bond. "Haven't you ever...well, trusted anyone like this before?" At the look on Kakashi's face, he continued: "Apparently not. It's...Kakashi, it's just so you can...I don't know, let go? I suppose."

Abruptly, Kakashi asked, "Have you ever done this before?"

"Been tied up during lovemaking? Yes. Tied someone else up? Oh, yes. It's fun."

"Fun." Kakashi rolled the word around his mouth, and Iruka suddenly wondered if Kakashi treated sex like a mission. "All right."

Iruka blinked up at him and then nodded; Kakashi felt more willing than reluctant, even though there was a stilted edge to it, as if he was bracing himself against the unknown. He slid his hands up Kakashi's legs. "Oh. All right. If you don't like anything I'm doing, then tell me to stop, and I will."

"Will you," Kakashi said, tone flat. His eye was bright, however, and Iruka smirked up at him before he lifted the lower hem of Kakashi's gown-like shirt and dived underneath it; he came face to face with Kakashi's half-hard cock, the heady smell of him and a glistening droplet of precome oozing from the slit. Iruka grasped the shaft, pulling back his hand so that Kakashi's foreskin revealed the thick head completely. Kakashi made an abortive movement, a twitch of his hips and Iruka gave him a lick for his troubles, long and slow on the underside of his prick.

The low groan Kakashi let out and the raw want funnelling through their bond hit Iruka like a Lion-combo, and he took him into his mouth, suckling briefly before sliding down even more. He controlled his breathing and his gag-reflex, going down almost to the grey tangle of Kakashi's pubic hair before pulling back.

"Oh," Kakashi muttered and Iruka allowed him to move in his mouth, shallow, experimental thrusts. It was warm underneath Kakashi's shirt, and Iruka's hair plastered to the back of his neck, while saliva dribbled out of the corners of his mouth as Kakashi fucked even faster... but Iruka would not have it any other way. He was hard himself, and Kakashi was so deliciously slick in his mouth; he stroked the skin of his thighs, fondled the furred, heavy balls. He released Kakashi's cock with an obscene _pop_, and swirled his tongue all over the surface while Kakashi made noises of desperate complaint.

When Iruka sucked Kakashi back in fully, he jerked, going up on the balls of his feet. Iruka tasted the first bitter spurt of his come; he closed his eyes, gripping Kakashi's hips as if he was falling off some edge as he continued to swallow Kakashi's release. Iruka's own prick throbbed between his legs, and he pulled at the sash of his yukata and opened the folds of material, reaching between his legs.

Kakashi's shirt was ripped from over his head just as he got hold of himself, and Kakashi stared down at him; he had freed himself, but Iruka saw a thin red line on the skin of each of his wrists, indicating that it had been relatively difficult. Iruka had no time to ponder that right now; Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back, and he tumbled onto his bottom, cock bobbing up eagerly.

"Kakashi!" Iruka was very cross with him, but that faded as Kakashi knelt between his sprawled legs, staring down at his erection. That heavy gaze travelled up Iruka's body, taking in the heaving plane of his stomach and chest, his mouth and his damp hair. "I need to—" Iruka reached down, grasping himself again and tugging at it with shaky strokes.

"Kakashi," Iruka said again, but the name emerged on a low moan as he snapped his wrist quickly in that way he liked best. Iruka barely registered Kakashi's intention before the other man peeled his fingers away and then wrapped his own in their place, taking up the rhythm and the method with suspicious ease. Iruka stared at his face and...the now-exposed Sharingan glowed red. Kakashi had _copied_ the manner in which he masturbated.

Iruka came hard, writhing half-naked on the floor near the front door, arching as he spurted all over Kakashi's hand. He lay there for a few beats, trying to calm his heartbeat and gathering his scattered thoughts with some difficulty. That was a bit problematic, since one of Kakashi's hands still lay warm on his upper thigh. When he had finally managed to compose himself, he raised his head a little, and saw Kakashi inspecting his hand.

"Hngh," Iruka groaned when Kakashi licked at his come-covered fingers, tongue flickering in between the long digits.

"It's bitter," Kakashi informed him and Iruka slumped back down, flinging one hand over his eyes.

"Yes. I know."

"But not bad," Kakashi said and Iruka lifted his head again so fast that his head spun. "I don't mind it."

"Oh." Iruka smiled at him. "And the bondage part?"

"Hmm." Kakashi appeared as if he was compiling a mission report in his head, face completely composed. Iruka, however, felt a thick streak of satiation twisting vigorously between them. "It was indeed fun."

Iruka laughed, scrambled up to his knees and fell upon Kakashi with quick kisses. If Kakashi had an issue with the taste of his come in Iruka's mouth, he didn't say.


	7. Kuchinashi

As agreed, they went to Iruka's flat for the fourth day. They woke very early, and indulged in some leisurely touching and heated kisses, and then had to wipe the sticky release from their skin with damp cloths. Then, they spread the bed, did some quick cleaning and dressed. Kakashi packed a few of his favourite books and some uniforms, just in case, and they set off into the dark, still morning.

Iruka led the way, his hair loose as they leaped from roof to roof, landing on the tiles and pushing off with capable confidence. The air was cool, and Kakashi was sporting his scarf, thankfully. He still felt naked without his forehead-protector and mask, and he wondered how he appeared now, dressed in a loose pair of old trousers and another long shirt. Kakashi was a big fan of shirts like that. They were comfortable and easy to pull on, and he could drag the neckline up to cover his face, if he wanted to.

Iruka had chuckled when he had pulled it from its place on his shelf. "I thought you only owned that green one," he said, doing his part of their now effortless dance to put their clothes on while maintaining contact at the same time. "How many do you have?"

"Seven," Kakashi said, and smiled. "One for every day of the week."

"You gave me the yukata to wear." Iruka wrinkled his nose at Kakashi. "Next time, I want one of these shirts."

"Fine," Kakashi said and had felt surprised when he realized that there was going to be a _next time_. That sort of continuity was unprecedented in his romantic life.

Now, Iruka landed on the roof of one of the larger apartment-blocks and headed towards the covered entry of the stairwell. The door was open, and Iruka led him down four flights before stopping at another. He glanced at Kakashi.

"Want to try undoing _my_ seals?"

Kakashi nodded, and hitched his rucksack properly over his shoulder. He stared at the door, and felt the webbing of chakra stretched over the wood and along the walls, shimmering in response to their proximity. It felt like searching for his own chakra, even though he hadn't placed these security wards here at all.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Iruka hissed at him when he revealed the Sharingan, but it was a good-natured sort of ribbing. Kakashi ignored his pinches, and smiled triumphantly when he saw the sliver of chakra which held the rest of the web locked together. He reached for it and then paused; too easy. Too obvious.

Iruka's fingers squeezed against his as Kakashi looked _underneath_ that first level of chakra and found another slender string lying so incongruously behind it, the _real_ key to unlocking the protective seal. He teased it out of its hiding place, making it fall apart and unravel the rest of the arrangement.

"That was excellent," Iruka said and Kakashi preened internally. Iruka laughed at his conceit, but it was rare that someone gave him such simple and yet heartfelt compliment. They were always awed at his accomplishments, amazed at his prowess; or brusquely brushing off what he'd done, since it was _his job._ Kakashi wasn't going to beg for anyone's attention, but Iruka's smile and acknowledgement felt so warm.

They stood in front of the door, grinning at each other like naughty children.

"Well, come on in." Iruka finally broke their joined gaze and opened the door, spreading his arm out in a demonstrative arc. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Kakashi looked around, noting all the details as they removed their sandals and placed them on a low, dramatically painted table. The colours were primary and the style wild, as if it was done by a child. His greatest impression, after that insane little table, was the amount of plants Iruka had in his tiny apartment. They were _everywhere,_ and of all types: narrow bamboo and trailing vines, a few squat flowering types and one actual small tree that stood in the corner near the sliding door which led out to the tiny patio. These apartment blocks were built to contain an internal courtyard, where some of the shinobi trained when they were at home. Kakashi approved of the view when Iruka pushed open the door to let in air and the grey dawn. There were more plants outside, even a prickly cactus perched on the balustrade like a smug cat.

Balls of chakra hovered over each plant, containing varying amounts of liquid. At certain angles, the energy of the chakra was barely visible, so that it appeared as if there were bubbles of pure water lingering in the air. It was enchanting, like a fairytale and when Kakashi poked one, the surface of the chakra rippled and a tiny shower erupted from it to sprinkle on the plant below.

"Don't hassle the watering-spheres," Iruka chided, but he simply smiled when Kakashi touched another one and caused another miniature storm.

"So many," Kakashi said and looked at Iruka, who shrugged. "And where did you learn that chakra-ball technique?"

"My parents had a big garden at the back of their house. They tended to grow more plants than most people," Iruka said, plucking a few brown leaves from a hanging plant. "So they showed me, and I'd help take care of the whole thing. What do you think?"

"It's cluttered," Kakashi answered and Iruka laughed in that _you're-so-silly-but-I-like-it_ fashion; Kakashi thought it was a cute laugh and then felt a little shiver down his back at the naturalness of that musing.

"I know." Iruka rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I keep telling myself to take some out, but I end up just getting new ones. At least Naruto's room isn't so bad. Here, let me show you."

Iruka led him towards to doors set side-by-side and pushed one open. It looked more like an office than a small bedroom, but Kakashi saw the narrow bed tucked along one wall. There were only two small plants inside, with their accompanying watering-spheres.

"So Naruto lives here?"

Iruka pulled the door shut. "No, he has his own place a few floors down, but he stays with me more often than not, the leech."

"Oh."

Iruka open the other door, putting his shoulder to it because it seemed to stick in its frame a little. "And this is my room."

Even more plants, but not as much as the living area. Iruka's bed was bigger than the one in Naruto's bedroom, and Kakashi angled away from its lure. He wanted to press Iruka against the soft surface and rock into him, and the desire burned deep in his groin.

Iruka cleared his throat and Kakashi looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Iruka was staring at the bed as well, but he asked, "Do you want to go to a training-ground later, and see if we could do the collaboration jutsu?"

"That would be acceptable," Kakashi answered and they both gazed helplessly at the bed.

Iruka turned to him and the words fell out so fast that they tumbled over each other: "Okay, but before _that_, do you want us to—"

"Yes," Kakashi growled and gathered him in his arms. Iruka lips were so pliant underneath his, so warm and willing, his hands grasping at Kakashi's ass. They walked together across the room to the bed and Iruka dragged him down onto it. Iruka's legs went up around his waist, rubbing up against him as he grasped Kakashi's face in his hands, fingers trembling as they stroked over his skin.

Kakashi took both his wrists as they kissed, and dragged Iruka's hands up over his head, pinning them there. He pulled away, smiling when Iruka raised his head in an effort to recapture his mouth.

"Ah, ah, ah," he taunted and squeezed Iruka's wrists. Iruka looked up at him with a half-lidded gaze, brown eyes smouldering.

"I see. And what do you plan to do with me now?"

Kakashi hesitated; he hadn't planned _that_ far, very uncharacteristic of him. Taking advantage of his distraction, Iruka lunged up, snapping his head forward. If Kakashi hadn't jerked back, Iruka would have connected and probably knocked him out.

...the thought of that only served to arouse him even more.

Iruka laughed, a truly evil little chuckle, and moved under him, twisting and rubbing their clothed cocks together. Kakashi was still a little sensitive from this morning, but he was so far gone that he couldn't help up thrust back, watching Iruka's face as soft groans fell from the other man's lips with every movement. Iruka's gaze was locked with his, the pupils blown so wide that Iruka's eyes were darker than ever.

Kakashi felt Iruka's arousal winding like smoke, echoing through the seal and enhancing his own. He felt his breathing hasten as if he was in a fight, and Iruka nearly threw him off, he bucked so hard when he came. Kakashi followed a few beats after, his forehead pressed against Iruka's as he felt his body go limp with satiation.

"Huh," Iruka said when Kakashi rolled from atop him; they lay side by side, staring up at the ceiling. "That was…intense."

"Hmm." Kakashi felt the world shift and darken around him, and groped for Iruka's hand right away, closing his eyes at the relief that poured over him. For a long, content moment, he concentrated on the feel of Iruka's fingers curled around his, the sturdy strength of them.

"Okay, let's go," Iruka said, sitting up and making a face. "But let me get a clean washcloth first."

Kakashi tagged along to the bathroom, noting that there were plants set on the rim of the bathtub as Iruka searched through a narrow closet and pulled out a blue cloth, handing it to Kakashi; he stared at it as Iruka rummaged for another one, and then turned to look at him.

Iruka's mouth quirked up in a slightly wry smile. "This would be easier if we just took a bath together," he said.

"All right," Kakashi answered and they blinked at each other. "Shouldn't be a problem," he continued, and shrugged. "Right?"

"Right." Iruka bit his lower lip and Kakashi couldn't help himself, he leaned forward to claim a kiss. He liked how Iruka responded, hard and yet yielding at the same time, tongue sliding out to taste Kakashi's mouth with sultry licks. They pulled off their clothes slowly, cloth sliding over skin in with low murmurs.

Shyly, Iruka helped to wash him off and Kakashi did the same, pulling the soapy washcloth across Iruka's tattooed back as they stood very close in the small depression which marked the shower-area. Kakashi had never helped wash anyone before; he watched the cloth drag across ink and muscle, tiny soap-bubbles glistening on top of tanned flesh. He slipped a hand under Iruka's hair, lifting it out of the way as he concentrated on the skin at the nape of his neck. Iruka leaned so that his back rested against Kakashi's chest for a moment, before he moved away to run water into the tub.

They watched the water swirl, splashing against the rounded ends. Iruka held up his free hand and smiled.

"_Katon_? A small one."

Kakashi reached out his own free hand, clasping Iruka's fingers, palm-to-palm. They moved through the hand-signs easily; Kakashi watched their hands dance together, his long pale fingers twisting with Iruka's darker ones. He inhaled deeply, feeling their chakra shift and press underneath his skin, influenced by the power of the seal. Without consulting each other, they moved their joined hands to hover in front of Kakashi's mouth, so he could exhale the gathered chakra into a thin spire of flame and heat the water.

They were still standing close; it felt right to initiate a kiss once they were finished and so Kakashi did, turning to cup Iruka's cheek, then slide his hand along Iruka's shoulder and down his side (Iruka laughed against his mouth when Kakashi's fingers tickled down his ribs and the lines of his abdominal muscles), before reaching around to rest his hand on Iruka's lower back. It was an uncertain touch, and Kakashi disliked that his hands felt so unsure as they splayed across Iruka's cool skin.

Iruka wriggled against him so that Kakashi's hand slipped down, and he found himself with a handful of firm bottom; Iruka released their joined hands and put his arms around Kakashi's waist, hands roaming over Kakashi's back as he pressed slow kisses to Kakashi's cheek and jaw.

"More," someone whispered and Kakashi realised that it was he who had said spoken, voice low and _needy_. Iruka pulled back a bit, a strange little smile playing around his lips. He rubbed his nose along the slope of Kakashi's shoulder and kissed the jut of his collarbone.

"More?" Iruka pressed against Kakashi when the other man nodded, their chests so close that Kakashi could feel the steady cadence of his heart. They must have appeared fairly ridiculous, standing there beside the uncovered tub, completely naked and swaying slightly as they kissed and touched. Kakashi didn't mind.

Iruka pulled away and stepped into the tub, grasping Kakashi's hand again. After some moving around, and a minimum of splashing, they managed to find comfortable positions with Kakashi sitting in-between Iruka's legs. Kakashi felt awkward for a few moments, aware of Iruka's penis tucked up against his back; he shifted and Iruka murmured, "Careful," in an amused tone. He allowed himself to relax, head resting against Iruka's shoulder.

This was nice. Kakashi had never been so close to someone before; he rarely touched other people, unless he had to, such as carrying an injured team-mate. He had never sat with someone in a tub, feeling the press and slide of their body against his. It was surprisingly...comforting. He had no concern that Iruka would harm him, because he could feel Iruka's intents, at the very least. He concentrated, worming into that section of their bonded chakra that was still exclusively Iruka. There was a slow exhale behind him, and his mind was welcomed into a sweetly comforting core.

Kakashi suddenly wondered what it would be like to have Iruka _inside_ him, and he felt overly warm.

"What are you thinking about?" Iruka asked, raising a hand out of the water and letting droplets fall into Kakashi's chest. Kakashi didn't answer; he wanted to savour this particular activity before he set his mind to worry around that sudden longing, more than likely influenced by their sealed chakra. He sent his mind in different directions, the method he used during battle to figure out different reactions of his opponents and how to react to them. Now, he treated _himself_ as the adversary, and all the threads came back with the same response: _what is your reason for fighting this?_

"Kakashi?" Iruka kissed the curl of Kakashi's ear. "You're thinking _very_ hard about something."

_I want you,_ Kakashi thought, and experimentally, let his desire wind through their bond. Behind him, Iruka shuddered and whispered Kakashi's name again.

"Do you..." Kakashi cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head against Iruka's neck. "Let's have penetrative sex."

"Your sweet-talk is _so_ arousing, Hatake-san," Iruka said, voice mockingly breathless and he chuckled; however, his cock pressed, hot and hard, against Kakashi's back. "How do you—"

"You should do it to me first." Kakashi sat up, removing himself from the circle of Iruka's arms with some regret. He stood up, rivulets of water streaming down his body, and reached for the towel Iruka had given him; he felt a firm touch on the back of his leg, keeping contact. When Kakashi dried himself off, he turned to look at Iruka, who was looking up at him with very wide, dark eyes.

"You want me to be inside you," Iruka said, picking his way through the words very carefully, as he rose himself; his hand dragged up Kakashi's skin, creating a wave of goosebumps.

Kakashi squared his shoulders and nodded. "I'm sure you won't hurt me. And I'll know what to do...next time."

Iruka's lips parted in obvious surprise and Kakashi dropped a quick peck on them, feeling a slight smile on his face when he pulled back. Iruka wasn't even blinking, his gaze tracking all over Kakashi's face as if he could delve any further into what had been said.

"All right." He wrapped his own towel low around his hips as Kakashi rest a hand on his elbow.

Then, Iruka reached for him.


	8. Tsubaki

**AN:** This version is different from those posted elsewhere. I had doubts about posting it, though. Also, warnings for Iruka being on top, so if you don't like that, this is not the chapter for you.

* * *

Iruka knelt beside Kakashi, looking at him spread out on his front, head pillowed on his folded arms. Kakashi was peeking at him with the normal eye, brightly curious as Iruka located the small container of lubricant in the bedside drawer.

"Being on top might be easier for you," Iruka said. "Give you more control over, ah, how deep I go." He felt his cheeks warm at this impromptu lecture; Kakashi continued to regard him steadily.

"Or, you don't have to be on top," Iruka finished when Kakashi didn't say anything; he could feel the other man's uncertainty, and it helped him feel a bit more confident. "Up on your knees."

Kakashi obeyed after a beat, resting his weight on his elbows. Iruka crawled behind him, rubbing his free hand appreciatively up the back of Kakashi's leg. Then, he took a deep breath and gripped one cheek of Kakashi's bottom, pulling it to reveal his twitching entrance. He listened to Kakashi's breathing as he petted around his entrance, and when he bent to lick the back of one strong thigh, Kakashi made a funny, low-pitched sound.

Iruka dipped his finger in the lubricant and petted around before sliding his slicked middle finger slowly inside. He listened to their link as he worked his finger in and out, and felt Kakashi's body relax around the intrusion before trying another.

"Are you... are you ready?" Iruka asked after what seemed to be far too long, according to his own arousal, rubbing one hand over Kakashi's lower back.

"Sure," Kakashi said, an attempt at a drawl but his voice was shaky. Iruka grasped his prick with one hand, tossed the loose strands out of his face; he lined up, and pushed. Kakashi exhaled, a heavy sound; he was so very hot, and Iruka detected his discomfort, even though he made no sound. Iruka went as slow as he possibly could, working his way with short pulses.

Panting, he stopped. So hard, and Kakashi was _so tight_, but he stopped.

'It's alright," Kakashi informed him. He sounded bored, and Iruka knew better. "It doesn't hurt now, it just... feels full. I've been through more pain than this on missions."

"Can I... you know..."

"Go ahead."

Iruka huffed at Kakashi's mild tone, but pulled back to thrust in again. It felt so good; he wanted it to last as long as he could. He focused his attention on the pale plane of Kakashi's back, lean muscle rippling under scarred skin. Unable to help himself, Iruka leaned forward to lick in the dip of his spine and Kakashi made a surprised yelp.

"What is it?" Iruka said, stopping instantly.

"That was... wow." Kakashi felt surprised and completely annoyed at the same time. "You hit my prostate. Keep going, try that angle again."

Iruka placed a hand on one of Kakashi's shoulder, moving inside him and hoping his eyes weren't rolling in the back of his head from the perfect tightness. Iruka had the insanely deep urge to see Kakashi's face, and he stopped.

Kakashi peered over his shoulder at a motionless Iruka, frowning. His hair fell over the closed Sharingan eye. "What are you waiting for? I said keep going."

"Can we..." Iruka blushed, and then chided himself almost immediately. He was inside the man, and he couldn't express a simple wish? "Do you think you could turn over?"

Kakashi's consideration was weighty; Iruka was about to retract the request, thinking that Kakashi _would _have a problem in the missionary position without his mask even though Iruka had _seen_ his damned face, but then Kakashi shifted. He lay down slowly, flat on his chest, but drawing one knee up at the same time. Iruka tried to pull out, but Kakashi tightened around him, a signal for him not to move. Then, Kakashi began to turn carefully; he stretched that drawn-up knee out, swinging it over and up as he moved slowly. That long leg passed over Iruka's head as Kakashi continued to roll over. It was an incredible thing to see and feel, and when Kakashi finally settled on his back, he was smirking up at Iruka's stunned expression; Iruka hadn't slipped out of him at all.

"Read about that in an _Icha Icha_," Kakashi said smugly and rest his hands behind his head, a picture of self-satisfaction. "Thought I'd try it out."

"No wonder they call you a genius," Iruka returned and Kakashi grinned at him. In the bottom row of his teeth, two of them were slightly crooked. Iruka thought that small detail of imperfection was astonishingly cute. He bent down and pressed his lips to Kakashi's, rocking his hips backwards and forwards, trying out different angles until Kakashi flinched again, swearing this time.

"Oh," he moaned and his eyelids fluttered. It was odd, Iruka thought distantly, that his hair and eyebrows were so platinum, yet his eyelashes were dark and thick. Kakashi grabbed onto his arms and pushed up against him, his cheeks flushed as he gave Iruka a half-lidded gaze.

"Yeah," he murmured in encouragement and arched up, shuddering. Iruka bit at his neck, licking along his collarbone. Iruka's hair was damp with sweat and it stuck to his neck in wispy clumps. He braced himself on his forearms and tried to kiss Kakashi as his hips worked.

"So tight," he muttered against Kakashi's mouth. "You feel so _good_."

"Mmm." Kakashi spread his legs even more and went up on his elbows. He tilted his head back and Iruka bit at the corded length of his neck, their bodies slick and perfect together.

Iruka had to stop again; if hadn't, it would all be over in a few seconds. Kakashi's chest moved quickly against his as they panted.

"Sure you don't want try being on top?" Iruka nuzzled his jaw, licked the sweat of his collarbone.

"You know me," Kakashi answered and sought his mouth. "Lazy."

Iruka chuckled, and then laughed. He rolled them over, and grinned at Kakashi's pout. "Ride me," he said. Kakashi sat back, and Iruka raised his knees for him to rest against. Kakashi remained still for a few moments, and then moved his hips in a circular motion. Iruka's hands gripped his hips, helping him to move. Iruka watched his face, how Kakashi stared down at him; he licked his lips and braced his hands on Iruka's chest for a few seconds before he slid them to clutch at his shoulders.

"Fuck," Kakashi breathed and writhed, impaled beautifully. Iruka slipped a hand over his prick, jerking at it and thrust up.

Kakashi's fingers dug into his skin. "Iruka—"

He came as if he didn't expect it, body jolting with every hot spurt. The sensation of it spattering over Iruka's stomach, and how he clenched around Iruka brought him over the edge. He wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck, dragging him down so he could have him close as he came.

"Iruka. Iruka," Kakashi murmured over and over again, his face buried in Iruka's neck. His breath was hot and he exhaled deeply when Iruka slipped out of him.

"Kakashi?" Iruka rolled them onto their sides, stroking Kakashi's fair hair out of his face. "How...what did you think?"

"It was pleasurable," Kakashi said, his eyes closed and a tiny grin dimpling his cheeks.

Iruka laughed. He pressed close, stroking along Kakashi's side and kissing him deeply. Kakashi's fingers danced over his skin, tracing the ink of his tattoos.

Iruka said, "Let me get a cloth—"

They both felt the rapid dismantling of the seals and heard the door slam open.

"Iruka!" Naruto bellowed. "Are you here?" His footsteps thundered through the apartment. Kakashi and Iruka moved like shadows, slipping underneath the covers in barely a heartbeat. "Granny Tsunade and Hiromasa said you got yourself all _bonded_, whatever THAT means- um. _What_."

He had already shoved the door to Iruka's room and his bright blue gaze was locked on the two men in bed. Kakashi had the sheets pulled up to his nose and Iruka was sitting up, hoping the heady smell of sex wasn't too strong. Naruto blinked.

"Naruto," Iruka began but Naruto was making wild motions in the air with both hands.

"Yeah! I _know_ what you said about that privacy thing, when your door is locked and all that, I really remember but...uh, hi, Kaka-sensei."

"Yo," Kakashi answered and Iruka spared him a quick glance before returning his attention to Naruto.

"There was an incident on a mission," Iruka told him. "We were bonded, like the Hokage told you. We have to keep physically close for awhile."

"_Close_? Maybe this is a bit _too_ close, dontcha think?" Naruto jerked his chin at them.

"We could be closer," Kakashi teased, and while he was genuinely amused at Naruto's discomfiture, there was a faint edge of hysteria that Iruka detected. "Shall we show you?"

"No!" Naruto had gone back to the windmill arms. "No! Don't bother!" He tugged at his hair, pulled at his vest and then calmed down a little. "Holy _shit_, Iruka-niichan."

"Naruto!"

"Sorry! I mean, this has totally turned my world upside-down, okay?"

"I know the feeling," Kakashi said, snuggling down even more in Iruka's bed. "You'll get used to it."

Naruto pouted, worrying his bottom lip. "Well. At least it's Kakashi-sensei. That's good, I guess."

Iruka felt the wave of Kakashi's surprise tickle against the back of his mind. "Is it?" Kakashi asked; he went up on one elbow to stare at Naruto, the soft cotton of Iruka's sheets still over the lower half of his face.

"Yeah." Naruto rubbed the back of his head and then smiled, as bright as his wont. "Yeah! You're really okay, Kakashi-sensei. You're cool."

"Cool," Kakashi repeated slowly, and arched a single pale eyebrow. "I've been called that before, I think."

"Just...don't mess up, you know?" Naruto stared at them and Iruka was taken-aback by the unusual severity of his expression. "You guys are important to me." He toed the ground and lifted his shoulders in a single shrug. "Both of you."

Iruka was deeply touched and this was echoed in the surprise filtering from Kakashi.

"Thank you, Naruto," Iruka finally said. "Now... if you'll give us a chance to get dressed?"

Naruto appeared perplexed for a moment, and then comprehension dawned over his face, accompanied by obvious horror at the idea of their nakedness. "Oh! Okay, sure!" He dashed out, slamming the door. "I'll make us something to eat!"

Iruka sighed and combed his fingers through his hair, then scrubbed at his face, feeling the light rasp of stubble. Kakashi shifted beside him, and touched his back, touch skating up the bumps of his spine. Kakashi's chin settled on his shoulder, and then warm lips brushed across his skin; Iruka closed his eyes at the sweetness of it.

"Can he cook?"

"Somewhat." Iruka lay back in bed, and Kakashi stretched out beside him, their arms touching. "You won't die from it. Hopefully not."

They were silent, listening to the clatter of Naruto out in the kitchen.

"I hope he doesn't cook some of your plants," Kakashi whispered and Iruka burst out laughing.

...

Naruto wasn't a bad cook, all things considering. He had to be argued out of trying his hand at noodles, and would screech about being scarred for life, (for _life,_ Iruka!) whenever Iruka saw it fit to give Kakashi a quick peck on his lips, hidden by his mask.

Kakashi and Iruka discovered that they could refrain from keeping contact for a few minutes at a time without collapsing, a very good sign...but their bodies gravitated to each other in the night; they woke up in a confusing, arousing tangle, bringing each other off with lips and hands.

They played another round of janken to determine where they stay next, and Kakashi lost that round; he found he didn't mind. Iruka's place was smaller than his, and all those plants didn't help, but it was cosy and neat. When Tenzō came to visit, Iruka asked that he book a secluded training ground for their use. They were informed that, naturally, most of their friends were aware of their situation.

"They do?" Kakashi let his mouth twist when he heard that. "Can't hide anything in a Hidden Village, can you."

"I'm not sure you should even try," Iruka told him, and when Tenzō and Naruto had left for the evening, he had climbed into Kakashi's lap and kissed him until they were both dizzy with want.

Kakashi caught him gazing out of a window now and again, and couldn't comprehend the longing Iruka was broadcasting, of wanting to be outside, talking to people. He knew Iruka was friendly, but he had no idea that the sensei _yearned_ to be around other people. Kakashi couldn't relate; he specialized in removing himself from everyone else, placing barriers between himself and the rest of the world: his mask, his books, and his nonchalant speech. Iruka _liked_ other people.

And they liked him.

Odd, really.

But... Kakashi felt he could relate to how they felt about Iruka. He was smart and kind, and he seemed to balance Kakashi's antisocial tendencies quite well. For a person who seemed to be the opposite of Kakashi in nearly every way, they felt good together.

Kakashi wondered, had the seal hadn't struck them, if he would have found out how sly and sweet Iruka's smile could be.


	9. Hinageshi

"Let's go out," Iruka suggested, hoping that the quick looks he had been shooting at Kakashi all evening were not as shy as he felt they were. They had been in each other's pockets for more than a week now, and there were times Iruka could hardly believe that he was occupying the same space with Kakashi. Not that Kakashi would ever know about that. His deepest feelings were his own, joined chakra or not, and Iruka worked hard to lock them away deeply. "We shouldn't stay in here, hiding from everyone."

"I'm not hiding," Kakashi returned instantly, his tone fairly bland, but Iruka could pick up a tendril of annoyance coming through their bond. "If you want to go out, let's go."

"We don't have to, if you don't want to." Iruka began to feel a little annoyed himself, and Kakashi gave him a quick, amused look. Iruka took a quick breath and smiled in return. "We don't have to hold hands for too long, you know that. I'm not used to being cooped up like this, I need to get out." He looked around Kakashi's place, which they had arrived at last night. "I really need to-"

"Get out, I know. Fine." Kakashi rose from the futon they had been sitting in and pulled up his mask, sliding a finger between the edge of the dark cloth and his skin so that it lay flat. Iruka stood as well and came close to him, reaching out to smooth down the material over his mouth. Kakashi moved his head away and Iruka clamped down on the disappointment welling up in him, hoping that none of it seeped over to Kakashi. From the long look Kakashi gave him, it was likely that some of it _did_.

"We can go to the Rope and Hook," Kakashi suggested as they pulled on their sandals near the door. "Is that alright by you?"

"It's fine." Iruka touched Kakashi's shoulder before he opened the door and smiled up at Kakashi's questioning expression. "Can I get a kiss before we go?"

Kakashi stared at him for a very long time and then rolled his visible eye. "I _just_ put up this mask," he griped, even as he tugged it down and leaned forward, pressing his lips against Iruka's wide smile. Iruka fisted a hand in the front of Kakashi's black shirt and pulled him even closer, opening his mouth invitingly. When Kakashi's lips parted, Iruka slipped his tongue inside his mouth, moaning softly at the feel of Kakashi's tongue stroking against his. Their chakra hummed a contented song between them and Iruka was just about ready to push Kakashi against the wall and press a thigh between his strong legs and push his hands up underneath that black shirt-

Kakashi tore his face away, holding Iruka away by his shoulders. He was breathing hard, his cheeks flushed and Iruka kissed his jaw and neck, before reigning himself in with great difficulty.

"Let's go." Iruka held out his hand and after a moment, Kakashi took it.

They made their way down the narrow staircase and onto the quiet road. When they turned onto the main thoroughfare, Iruka felt Kakashi's fingers clench tightly around his own, before releasing. Their bond muttered in complaint, but as long as they touched each other now and again, the fainting would not occur. It was late evening, but there were still quite a number of people wandering to and from restaurants and bars. They stared openly at Iruka and Kakashi, whispering in groups...even going as far as pointing at how close they were walking to each other.

"Stop gawking," Iruka told one group of young civilians that gaped at them as they passed along the sidewalk. Iruka had just boldly brushed his hand against Kakashi's gloved fingers. "That's rude, didn't you learn any manners?"

Kakashi kept his head down, silver hair falling over his eyes.

"You forgot your _Icha Icha_," Iruka murmured.

"People are staring anyway," Kakashi replied lazily, but his tension twisted through their link. "Why blow their minds any more than we have to?"

"So kind of you, Kakashi-san," Iruka said drily. He heard whispering behind them and a surprised phrase filtered back to him: "..._faggots_?"

Iruka turned without even thinking about it, one hand slipping into the pouch Kakashi had strapped to the back of his hip, (prepared even though they weren't wearing their flak-jackets); two shuriken snapped through the air and landed heavily in the wall beside the head of one shocked teenager.

"Be very careful," Iruka said tightly, "how you use that word. It's disrespectful to _anyone_, especially to a great shinobi such as Sharingan no Kakashi here."

"I- I didn't realize it was the Copy-nin," the boy stammered even as he and his friends inched away.

"That's no excuse for being stupidly rude," Iruka said, impatience snipping his words into sharp pieces. "Get out of here." The boys needed no other invitation, clattering off down the road. Iruka felt a wave of hilarity emanating from Kakashi and turned to see his eye curved up in obvious yet soundless laughter.

"Maa, sensei," Kakashi drawled. "With your staunch defence of my person, I should just retire and let you do all the threatening for me."

"I just _hate_ it when people say crap like that," Iruka admitted. They were now just a few steps from the Rope and Hook, a bar used mostly by shinobi. "That's just..." he took a few deep breaths."I just hate it."

He was breathing hard from his little rant and Kakashi was looking at him carefully out of the corner of his eye as he pushed open the entry-door to Rope and Hook. From what was coming through their joined chakra, Kakashi was pleasantly surprised.

"So do I," was all Kakashi said and then pulled him inside. The low chatter of the patrons died out as soon as they walked in, now holding hands and maintaining that comfortable chakra link between them; chuunin and jounin alike stared at them. Iruka opened his mouth to chide them all, but Kakashi squeezed his fingers and yanked him to a shadowed booth.

"Can we sit here?" Kakashi asked the shinobi who were already seated and slid in without waiting for their response. Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged uncomfortable glances and then turned to blink at them.

Iruka's temper spiked; Kakashi's internal mortification had been building up again, but it melted away to more glee at Iruka's irritation. They sat close together, thighs touching and Kakashi released Iruka's hand, placing his arms on the table and raising one to rest his chin on a knuckled fist.

"Hello," Iruka told them pointedly, waving a hand to the bartender, who lifted his chin in acknowledgement and raised his eyebrows in question: _what'll you have?_ Iruka put up two fingers and the hand-signal for 'beer'. The bartender nodded.

"Make mine a low-malt," Kakashi muttered and Iruka signalled to the bartender again, who looked a little scornful at the new order, but brought over their drinks anyway.

"So..." Izumo began when the bartender left them. "So."

"I didn't know you were both gay," Kotetsu blurted and then winced, turning to glare at his companion. "Why did you step on my foot, Izumo?"

"It was an accident," Kakashi cut in before Izumo could retort. He shifted back and his face fell into shadow, before pulling down his mask and taking a long pull from his drink. He replaced his mask and came forward again into the dim light. "We have to be like this for awhile, so I suppose we'll just endure it."

Iruka's chest burned at Kakashi's resigned tone. He took that desolate feeling and locked it away, as far from their joined chakra as he could. He kept forgetting that this whole situation wasn't the same experience for Kakashi as it was for him.

"'Ruka-kun!" Someone hollered from across the bar and Iruka flinched. Oh, no. Not Anko.

Because the world hated him, Anko clambered into their booth with a wide, dangerous smile, pushing Izumo and Kotetsu further into the corner unceremoniously.

Ignoring their grumbles, she regarded Kakashi and Iruka with the expression of a cat cornering a panicky pair of mice. Iruka shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. Kakashi's cautious inquisitiveness trickled over to him.

Anko looked from one to the other, leering. "Finally! The honeymoon is over and I get to see my darling Iruka!"

"Anko," Iruka warned and she narrowed her eyes playfully.

"You got the _Copy-nin_ to marry you," Anko declared. "Umino Iruka, you _sly dog_. And after all we've been through, why haven't you invited me to any ceremony?"

"First of all, I didn't _get _him to marry me," Iruka said through clenched teeth. Kakashi was dying with laughter beside him, Iruka could feel it. "Secondly, there isn't going to be a ceremony because this isn't real."

"How can you say that, Iruka-sensei?" Someone else screeched and it was Kakashi's turn to flinch. Guy was bounding towards them, shoving Anko over and plopping down into the space, his eyes wide and shocked. "How can you treat Commitment and True Love like worthless things?" He blinked expressively and then scowled at Iruka, a frightening expression under his straight black fringe. "Iruka-sensei. I'm going to ask you to outline your _real_ intentions regarding my Worthy Rival."

"Look, it's not about intentions," Iruka tried to explain, but this seemed to set off Guy even more.

"You are supposed to be a shining example to other shinobi," Guy intoned, pointing a lecturing finger at Iruka. "If you don't treat your relationship seriously, then gay rights in our village will be viewed as unimportant!"

His voice echoed through the shocked silence of the Rope and Hook. Kakashi was giving Guy a bored stare, but he was deeply discomfited.

"Maa," Kakashi said carelessly, even as his thigh pressed against Iruka's in distress. "I'm sure there are other gay ninja, Guy-sensei."

"Of course there are!" Guy bellowed. "This is why you need to demonstrate your commitment sincerely!"

"Are _you_gay, Guy-sensei?" Iruka ventured. Guy drew himself up and sat as straight as a board.

"No," he said with great dignity. "But I will support my Worthy Rival and his lover and _anyone else_ who wants to live their life as they choose. That is my ninja way!"

He was standing at this point, his arm held up in a Fist of Oath.

"Thank you, Guy," Iruka said, trying not to squirm. Beside him, Kakashi was almost sliding off the seat in his careless manner, but he felt almost as awkward as Iruka. "Your support is much appreciated, as is everyone else's." Iruka nodded at the other shinobi, who returned the nod, and concentrated on their drinks for a while.

"Yeah, I mean," Izumo started hesitantly after Guy sat back down, "there are great gay ninja, I suppose. Powerful ones. Just because they're gay didn't mean that they aren't, you know, kick-ass."

"Yeah! I think Orochimaru was gay," Kotetsu put in, his face brightening. He turned to Anko for help; Anko shrugged. "Now that I think of it, it's pretty obvious. So, there you have it! One of the great Sannin, gay!"

"I _really_ don't think that Orochimaru is a good example to use right now," Izumo said, staring at his drink contemplatively.

"Right," Iruka said, dragging out the word and glanced at Kakashi, who was looking at the others around the table with his visible eyebrow arched. Iruka touched his hand under the table, and Kakashi stroked his fingers, so light that Iruka would have thought he imagined it, if their joined chakra hadn't curled against his skin in satisfaction, just like a spoilt kitten.

"Our chakra was bonded together by mistake," Iruka told them, hoping he sounded far more careless than he actually felt. "We're working our way through it."

"A chakra-bond." Guy narrowed his eyes at them, the conversation of the other tables muted around them. "So...there is no youthful and affectionate emotion?"

"Not everything should be classified as youthful, you know," Kakashi told him and Guy wrinkled his nose. "And no. There's nothing but a seal between us."

"Exactly," Iruka said, and made every effort to hide the clenching sensation near his heart.


	10. KeshiKi

The practice for the collaboration jutsu was, to Kakashi's surprise, a fairly excellent one.

He shouldn't have been surprised, really. They shared chakra, so the level of their cooperation was already high. However, Kakashi had not expected that they would meld their actions and reactions so seamlessly. He found himself thinking of working with Iruka on missions, using their bond as a formidable weapon.

Tenzō had booked Training Ground #15, one set almost at the outskirts of the village, a section of it tucked under a rocky outcropping. At the time of the morning that Kakashi and Iruka arrived to do a bit of experimentation, it _should_ have been abandoned, but Kakashi picked up the chakra-signatures of quite a few other shinobi; all Konoha, of course, for their chakra felt as familiar as the mask on his face.

"Nosy, aren't they," Iruka said when they landed near the western edge near the tree-line. "Want me to tell them to go away?"

"I guess not." Kakashi adjusted his gloves, and reached out to squeeze Iruka's wrist briefly. "Let's just get this over with, so we can go back home."

Iruka stared at him for a moment, and Kakashi felt pleasant surprise emanating from him.

"What?" he asked, but Iruka shook his head, his lips quirked up in a little smile.

"You said—never mind." He turned towards a group of fallen rocks near the outcropping, their colour a muted yellow in the dim dawn, and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Yamato! If you're going to spy on us, you might as well create some targets for us to practice on."

A very long pause spun out into the chilly morning. Kakashi laughed silently beside him, air huffing out through his nostrils. Iruka elbowed him when, finally, colossal columns of dirt rose up out of the ground, each circular top crowned with a patch of grass. They seemed twice as broad as Iruka and Kakashi put together.

"Thank you!" Iruka yelled.

"...welcome," Tenzō's grumble filtered back, and Kakashi actually laughed right out loud. The honestly carefree sound of it was very surprising and he stopped abruptly, looking at Iruka out of the corner of his eye. Iruka was standing close, arms folded across his chest and grinning at him.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked, giving in to the need to brush his hands over Iruka's broad shoulders, and tuck strands of his dark hair away from his face. Iruka withstood his awkward attention, his grin fading a little bit, but the cheerful feeling echoed between them.

Iruka nodded, and unfolded his hands, placing his palms against one another in his start position. Kakashi did the same, looking into his eyes. He wanted to say something, to instruct Iruka on what he thought they should do, but he refrained. The point of a collaborative jutsu was to act as one entity without prior discussion, to anticipate what attacks and defence were being formulated by the partner.

Kakashi felt a shift in their chakra, and straight away he knew, he just _knew_, what Iruka was going to use it for, and started moving his hands. Iruka made his hand-signs, and a small tornado twisted into existence around the closest target. Kakashi closed off his own hand-signs, and in an instant, the tiny tornado was lashing out spikes of lightning, tearing off clumps of dirt from the target with vicious ease. It died down after a few seconds, but not before the target was reduced to a small pile of rubble, soil raining out of the air from where the tornado had thrown it high.

"Nice!" Iruka said, clapping once as if he was in class. His grin was so wide, he was squinting. "That was pretty good!"

Kakashi shrugged, but he knew Iruka could feel his own exhilaration. "It was okay."

Iruka laughed and steepled his fingers against each other again. "Your enthusiasm, my scarecrow, is quite infectious."

Kakashi blinked at him. "_Your_ scarecrow?" He wasn't upset at the possessive term, to be honest. To be claimed like that was... kind of nice.

"Or do you prefer 'my bushy-haired friend'?" Iruka asked, eyes innocently wide as his fingers began to shift against each other. On an impulse, Kakashi deliberately pushed some of his own chakra towards Iruka, already formed with lightning as its end-intent.

Iruka faltered for a moment, obviously unused to the nature of the chakra that Kakashi had sent over; then, he inhaled sharply when splinters of blue light erupted in his fist. Kakashi felt a wave of energy flow back to him, and it felt so odd under his skin; Iruka's chakra, tinged with his wind affinity.

Kakashi took it, and shaped it into a wind-release version of the _rasengan_, copied from Naruto, of course. Their hair whipped back from their bared foreheads from the gale forces generated, and Kakashi flung it towards one of vertical targets. A bare thought later, Iruka clenched the wrist of his lightning-filled hand with the fingers of his other hand and let the bright spires of light curve around the spinning ball hurtling away.

The effect was gratifyingly effective and intimidating. Iruka's lightning was caught up in the vortex of Kakashi's wind, pulled in to create lashes of light which scored deep grooves into the packed earth before the _rasengan_ finished the job, decimating the pillar it had been heading for.

Kakashi stared at the quiet heap of dirt and small stones left behind. He took long, laboured inhales, as if the air had been abruptly rarefied. Iruka turned towards him, spinning slowly on his heel and their gazes caught and held, burning through the space between them.

"Kakashi," Iruka said, voice very soft. He took a single step and paused, a hesitant expression crossing his features. Kakashi licked his lips, and Iruka glanced at the slight movement under his mask, before staring right into Kakashi's eyes again.

He was so _direct_, Kakashi thought, taking his own step forward and reaching out to grip at Iruka's fingers. He could feel the soothing weight of Iruka's desire through their chakra and instead of feeling a little edgy about the action, he liked the feel of Iruka's hand against his. Perhaps, he was getting used to it.

Iruka finally glanced down, and Kakashi noticed, not for the first time, how thick his lashes were. _Clumpy_, Kakashi dubbed them, and tugged Iruka towards him.

"Home?" Iruka asked when he was one step closer; he was smiling, gaze still directed down somewhere in the vicinity of their sandal-covered feet. They were dressed in their regulation clothing, black trousers and the summer versions of their shirts, those with the short sleeves and Kakashi eyed the head of the dragon now visible on his bicep. Kakashi wondered if Iruka chose to wear his long-sleeves nearly all the time, to maintain the image of a mild chuunin-sensei.

At the moment, he appeared delectable; his hair hung loose around his shoulders and his eyes, when he peeked up at Kakashi, his eyes were so brown and warm.

"Yes, home," he said; it was probably very inadvisable that the both of them made the signs for the transportation jutsu at the same time, for their arrival at Iruka's apartment was marked by such a large puff of smoke, and a massive displacement of air, that they both ran around for few seconds trying to stabilize the plants and their watering-spheres.

They were laughing uncontrollably by the time they managed to stop most of the plants from swinging in agitation, staggering towards the sofa and collapsing on it. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he had laughed like that. _Never_, he would say. His ribs and stomach hurt from the effort; he was still chortling when Iruka slid over, put his arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his mouth, right over his mask.

Kakashi slid the material down to his neck and they continued to kiss; even as a teenager, Kakashi had not been given to making out. Iruka cupped his face and deepened their kiss, licking at his mouth and nibbling his lips. Kakashi copied his every move, until they were both breathing heavily and Kakashi felt he would come in his pants in only a few seconds.

Iruka drew back a few inches and dived in again, hands sliding up into Kakashi's hair and gripping lightly. Kakashi shifted forward, one hand on Iruka's hip, clenching the material of his dark trousers. Iruka shifted that same leg until it was draped over _Kakashi's_ hip, and he let his hand run down the strong length of Iruka's leg, feeling the muscle hidden underneath the cloth.

Underneath the _underneath_; there was so much more to Iruka than Kakashi had ever suspected, and there was a part of his mind that would remain forever bemused that all of it had been hidden from Kakashi's regard so effectively. Their chakra shimmered, bright and warm with their shared pleasure.

He moved into Iruka's touch when he felt Iruka's fingers brush against his aching crotch. Iruka was almost sitting in his lap by now, and their kisses began to gain a sharp, desperate quality. Kakashi made a low noise in the back of his throat, almost a needy growl as Iruka began to undo the fastenings on his trousers; he slipped his hand in and they both groaned at the sensation of Iruka's fingers petting at the damp head of his erection.

Kakashi said his name, but the sound of it was muffled between the wet expanses of their mouths. Iruka slid over completely, straddling Kakashi's lap and bracing his elbows on the top of the short sofa, on either side of Kakashi's head. Iruka ground his bottom against his hard length; Kakashi grabbed his waist, holding on tight as if he would fall if he didn't.

"Kakashi, _please_," Iruka murmured, in between nips and licks. "Please, please. I want you."

"I-" Kakashi paused to chase after his mouth, since Iruka had gained a deep interest in the slope of his neck, the whorl of his ear. "I want you, too."

Iruka froze. He drew back and stared at Kakashi, lips kiss-swollen, and smiled brilliantly. "Let's go to bed."

**...**

Iruka lay on the practical cotton sheets that were fairly new, propped up on his elbows. He had a pillow under his hips, his legs spread wide; Kakashi was kneeling between them, his eyes fixed on his own fingers where they were disappearing inside Iruka's eager body.

Iruka kept his breathing steady, trying to feed a sense of tranquillity through their bond. Nearly all of Kakashi's attention was fixed on stretching Iruka, just as how he had been shown, and the whole process had a ceremonial air. Iruka wriggled his toes against the bed and then jerked when Kakashi's fingers managed to brush against that receptive knot of nerves inside.

Kakashi glanced up at him, expression slightly distant. "Yes?"

"Yes," Iruka confirmed. "Oh, _yes._ I can't wait until you're inside me."

The mischievous side of him delighted at the way Kakashi's normal eye widened a fraction; he pushed down on Kakashi's fingers, biting his lip and savouring the slight sting.

"I think I'm ready," he told Kakashi, quite pointedly. Slowly, Kakashi withdrew his slick fingers and encircled them around himself. Iruka could still detect some reluctance on his part, but now the main reason behind this seemed not to be because he felt forced...but apparently, he didn't want to hurt Iruka.

"Just...put it right against there," Iruka said, trying to sound as encouraging as he did with his students...and he really didn't want to think about those brats _right now,_ thanks so very much. "And take it slow."

Their sealed chakra rippled with wry amusement from Kakashi. "All right, _Sensei_."

Iruka was about to retort with something funny, hoping to make Kakashi laugh out loud and help him relax a bit more, when he felt Kakashi line up against him; he bore down as Kakashi slid inside. The flared head was the worst part, and it had Iruka grasping large handfuls of the sheets, but in a moment it was over and all that was left was the comforting burn.

"Fuck," Kakashi breathed, moving in about the same speed as a glacier in the Land of Snow. Iruka wanted to whine for more, to wriggle down on Kakashi until he _choked_ on it. From the warning look Kakashi threw at him, he would do well just to keep still until Kakashi was all the way in.

Finally, wonderfully, Iruka felt the quick brush of pubic hair against his hot skin, and then Kakashi withdrew, his gaze still intent on Iruka's face. Iruka moved his hips, a slow roll, and then let himself lie down flat; he closed his eyes and pictured Kakashi's erection tunnelling inside the dark, warm tightness, pulling back to push in again. Each thrust was more confident than the last.

"Ah!" Iruka arched, pleasure skating up his spine like lightning as Kakashi located that spot he had found before. "Kakashi!" He grabbed Kakashi's biceps, fingers digging into flesh; he pulled him down in a bid for kissing, but ended up simply panting against Kakashi's mouth, a keen at the summit of every moan. Iruka thrust back on Kakashi's cock almost violently, his legs wrapped around Kakashi's waist. As a matter of fact, they were enfolded into each other by now, bodies pressed so close and sweat beading between their chests. The bed creaked rhythmically with their exertions and Iruka raked his fingers down Kakashi's back, overwhelmed by the intensity of it all.

"Iruka," Kakashi said, strangled and buried his face in the curve of Iruka's neck; he bit the skin there and sucked for a moment, while Iruka bucked underneath him. "I'm-"

Iruka said nothing; he simply hung onto Kakashi for dear life as the other man's movements became uncontrolled, erratic and the hot spurt of his release flooded inside Iruka. Kakashi's breath was hot on his ear and Iruka came almost helplessly, clenching around Kakashi's cock. Kakashi moaned again, soft and low against Iruka's skin.

"Oh," Iruka said, spread boneless underneath Kakashi's long, strong weight, a sticky pool congealing between their stomachs. Kakashi softened inside him, and slipped out and he bit his lip at the slippery sensation, come dripping out of him after Kakashi's cock. Gingerly, Kakashi rolled off him and arranged himself on his side right against Iruka, allowing their bodies to cool. Iruka still felt hot width of him inside, like an echo, and his limp member twitched weakly at the recollection.

Iruka sighed and then swung one leg off the bed, preparing to get up. "I'll go get something to-"

"Wait." Kakashi's arm was over his torso in a moment. "Let's just lie here. For a few minutes more."

"Are you going to count down?" Iruka settled back, turning his head to look at Kakashi, but since his head was resting on Iruka's shoulder, all he got for his troubles was a face-full of wild hair. He inhaled, smelling his own shampoo riding over Kakashi's own scent.

"Mmm." Kakashi's arm tightened around him once more. "I will. We can start at five minutes, so I'll set my mental clock and-"

The knock on the door was gentle, but they were both sitting up, glancing at each other. Kakashi frowned at Iruka's slight wince, and reached out to touch his cheek; Iruka turned his face and pressed his lips to the roughened palm.

"It's okay," he said, smiling against Kakashi's hand. "I feel good. You...you were _amazing_."

Kakashi's eyebrow arched, but Iruka wasn't fooled at all by this display of collectedness, not when a pleased blush seeped through their bond.

"So were you," he answered, tone husky and deep, and if there wasn't someone waiting at the door, Iruka would have laid him back and devoted time with lips and tongue to his pale, scarred skin.

To make up for that loss of adulation he settled for a quick kiss, which turned into a series of distracted, heated pecks until another knock intruded.

"One minute!" Iruka disentangled himself from Kakashi, ignoring the groaned complaints as he got out of bed and went to the narrow bathroom closet for washcloths. Dampening two of them, he threw one at Kakashi, and went to the bathroom to do a quick wipe, before hunting down a yukata in the bedroom and hurriedly knotting it about his body. Kakashi was amused at his attempts to neaten his hair by combing through the tangles with his fingers, and from the feeling in their sealed chakra, it was quite a futile activity.

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei." Hiromasa stood on the other side of the door when Iruka opened it, fully dressed for field-duty. He offered a quick bow, and then stared at Iruka's neck for a long, shocked moment.

Iruka's hand flew to the spot he was gaping at, blushing; a red mark was probably there, left behind by Kakashi during sex. Hiromasa's expression lost that surprised quality, and he grinned.

"Good morning, Hirmasa-san," Iruka managed to say, still flushed warmly. "It is very good to see you. How can I help?"

"Godaime-sama has sent me to fetch both you and Kakashi-taicho." Hiromasa's smile had faded away, and now his heavy features held nothing but concern. "There are representatives here from both Ten Ravens and Archer."

"Why?" Kakashi said from behind him; Iruka, who had felt him drawing close, thankfully did not flinch. He felt Kakashi's internal frown at the heaviness in Hiromasa's tone.

"They say they've found a way." Hiromasa looked from one to the other, his dark eyebrows pulled so close to each other that they looked like one hairy line. "A way to break the seal."


	11. Manjushage

When Hiromasa said 'representatives', Kakashi had been expecting one or two people from each village; when they walked into the large hall which was set aside for town-gatherings, it seemed as if the entire populations from both Ten Ravens and Archer were crammed inside. A collective shout arose when the men walked in, and the crowd heaved forward. Kakashi found persons touching him, shaking his hand. His natural aversion to masses of people rose up in him, and he longed for escape.

Smoothly, Iruka stepped in front of him, taking the brunt of the attention with ease. He endured the claps on the shoulder and the elderly ladies patting his cheeks with the grace of a politician about to be elected, and it was with some relief that Kakashi found himself at the podium at the other end of the hall, looking up at Hitome and Kiyoshi kneeling on woven mats on either side of a bemused Hokage, wide grins on their faces.

"SHINOBI-SAN!" Hitome bellowed, and rose up. She raced across the stage, the ends of her embroidered robes flapping, and launched herself through the air. Iruka caught her, laughing in her face and Kakashi swallowed hard at the sight of how _natural_ he was with children. Kakashi liked children enough, and liked them even more when they were not in his general vicinity... but Iruka was comfortable enough to go down on one knee, setting the princess on her feet and listening intently as Hitome told him some complicated tale, her fingers weaving shapes in the air. Kiyoshi had made his way off the stage with his own brand of collectedness, but he ended up leaning against Iruka's side, a shy smile on his face.

Iruka would make a reasonably good father, Kakashi thought and stuck his hand in his pockets as he pondered this. He would make a woman very happy...he was calm, capable, well-spoken and strong. Instead of being stuck to Kakashi, he could be freed to pursue a normal life, maybe even create a horde of mini-nin.

_You're forgetting that Iruka is obviously not interested in women,_ a tiny voice in his head reminded him. _At least, not sexually.__  
_  
_I haven't forgotten,_ Kakashi thought back, a bit more forcefully than necessary, considering that he was basically thinking at a voice in his own head.

_You haven't?_ The voice, with its implacable curiosity, sounded suspiciously like Minato-sensei. Kakashi shoved it away, and shook his head when Iruka looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Why are you all here?" Iruka asked the children, setting them away and rising.

"We didn't get a chance to properly thank you for saving our Hitome-hime," a man said, stepping forward; Kakashi recognized him as Hitome's cousin, Shou. "We decided to make the effort. We bring gifts!"

"They only decided to make the effort when they found out we discovered a way to break the seal," Kiyoshi piped up, and Hitome glared daggers at him. "We came to give you that solution, as our own gift."

"Our gifts are better," Hitome said, her eyes narrowed. "It's stuff you can actually _hold._ Like clothes. And...stuff."

Kiyoshi sniffed, and turned to the group of Archer villagers who had arranged themselves around the little boy. He held out his arms, and one of them deposited a scroll which appeared completely innocuous, like a list the Godaime made when she wanted the ANBU to find her the best liquor. Kiyoshi unfurled it, holding it up for them to see. Unlike the Bijozakura, this had no beautiful image, just lines of cramped handwriting.

"I saw this when we were going through my father's belongings," Kiyoshi said. "I read it, and...well, see: _Here, a sharpened blade to slice through bonds, if unfound connections the Bijozakura creates. And yet against seals true, the blade is dull._" He snapped the scroll closed and stared up at them with shining eyes. "So you can be separated!"

"That is good to hear," Tsunade called out. "I'm sure that these two shinobi are more than ready to be parted from each other. I've read the scroll, and it seems to be a very safe procedure."

"I am glad," Kakashi answered, keeping his tone light and simple. He tried to reach out to Iruka in their bond, but Iruka was pulled away from him, disclosing very little in the way of how he felt. Kakashi turned his head very slightly, looking at Iruka out of the corner of his eye, but Iruka was staring straight ahead.

"We can do this right now. The sooner the better." Tsunade clapped her hands decisively, and cast an exasperated gaze on the outsiders who had invaded her village. "Ten Ravens and Archer...thank you for your honoured company!"

**...**

Hitome insisted that the wonderful clothing she had brought for the shinobi-san would be worn to their separation ceremony. Kakashi wasn't even sure it _should_ be a ceremony, but he changed his clothes in a small room to one side of the main hall and tried to ignore the stony impression emanating from Iruka. The only time Iruka smiled was when Naruto slipped in and joked that he never thought Iruka would be one to get a divorce so quickly.

Kakashi felt like everything was moving so fast. Hadn't he been wrapped up in bed with Iruka just a few hours ago? Watching Iruka moan and look up at him with pupils blown wide, soft pants falling from his lips every time Kakashi surged forward in him...Kakashi still had no words to describe how that had felt. Now, they were seated at a low table, tea set out on the polished wooden surface as they waited for Tsunade to send for them; she was busy with ANBU and some other shinobi, emptying the main hall of the invading villagers and inscribing the breaking seals on the floor. The protocol outlined in the scroll indicated that those to be separated should not be in the presence of the creation of the seals until after they were made.

Iruka took a deep breath and said, "Are...are we sure we want to do this? I mean, separating will mean we'll lose the collaboration in our jutsu."

Kakashi twisted his mouth underneath the mask he kept on, even with these heavy robes draped over his shoulders. "It's for the best."

A hard, sharp twist invaded their bond, and as Iruka poured out some tea in two cups, Kakashi realized that it was coming from _him_.

"It could be better to stay together," Iruka said, and slid one cup over to Kakashi. He took a long sip out of his own.

Kakashi shook his head. "Trust me, it would be more logical to part. This was only a mission, after all. We were trusted to complete it, and nothing else."

_Why must you lie so, Kakashi?_ the Minato-voice returned to ask and Kakashi scowled at it. He knew Iruka's anger a bare heartbeat before there was a physical manifestation of it, for he felt it building in their sealed chakra, as heavy and hot as a massive fireball.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" Iruka cried, throwing his cup against the wall. It shattered, bits of white crockery and dark tea sliding down the wall. "I _want _you. I want to _be _with you! I know you want me too, I can feel it between us, you-_you_-" Apparently at a loss for words, Iruka glared at him.

Taken aback by Iruka's shouts and the breadth of feeling now flooding between them, Kakashi's first reaction was to go cold.

"So you know what I want now. But have you asked me what I _need_, sensei?" Kakashi asked in a low, perilous voice. "Do you even know?"

The high emotion drained out of Iruka's expression; it seemed as if he even stopped breathing for a moment.

Then, he inhaled, shakily. "Apparently," he choked out, "I don't."

Kakashi regarded him out of the corner of his normal eye, his face now turned slightly away. "Suppose I need a proper bond, Iruka-sensei? Not an accidental one, a _real_ one, to someone I _want_ to be with... someone who can give me heirs to carry on the Hatake name?"

Iruka probably didn't realize that while the rest of his face was as hard as a rock, the look in his eyes was completely stricken. Kakashi shifted away his gaze away, almost unable to withstand the amount of hurt coming from Iruka; but Iruka didn't understand. This _was_ for the best. All the laughter, their shared life, that had only been temporary. Their real lives were waiting for them to take up again, to slip them on like armour.

Iruka said, "I don't think you want that, Kakashi. To be honest, you're not _sure _what you want. You've never had a normal, stable relationship in your _life_."

"Normal and stable is boring," Kakashi said, and shrugged dismissively.

"And yet, that's obviously what you'd prefer." Iruka rose from the small table, brushing imaginary specks of dust from his yukata. "My apologies, Hatake-san. Please forgive my presumption of your _needs_."

Kakashi didn't answer. Agitated, Iruka rose and traced a path around the room; he was almost on the opposite side from Kakashi when he whirled around and stomped over, kneeling beside Kakashi and grabbing onto the front of his own silken robes. Kakashi's mouth was already parted in surprise, so Iruka just kissed him deeply, angry teeth and furious tongue, until Kakashi was moaning against his mouth, clutching onto Iruka's shoulders.

"How can you not want this?" Iruka murmured against his lips. "I would give you anything you asked for."

Kakashi shoved him away and was on his feet before Iruka could take hold of him once more. Iruka remained where he was, head bent and hair falling in a curtain around his face. He remained motionless, but the hurricane of his emotions battered at Kakashi, who held up his hands as if to ward off an attack. He felt as if ghostly shuriken sliced across his skin in an unstoppable swarm.

Abruptly, the assault ceased. Kakashi lowered his hands and stared at Iruka, who was looking up at him anxiously.

"Did I... _hurt_ you?" Iruka was deeply horrified at himself, Kakashi knew that. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't realize-"

Kakashi curled his hands into fists, and then immediately let his fingers hang loose again. He tried to keep his tone mild, but it came out cutting. "I didn't know we were capable of _that_."

Iruka closed his eyes, and the door behind Kakashi was pushed open. An ANBU stood there, giving Kakashi a respectful tilt of the head before motioning at them both.

"We're ready, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sempai."

"Kakashi," Iruka murmured, sounding and _feeling_ broken, but Kakashi stepped out of the room and did not look back at him.

**...**

For days after their separation, Iruka walked around feeling as if he was missing a limb. A very important limb; one that made him smile and was kind of hot with a mass of silvery hair. An _infuriating_ limb, who refused to acknowledged the feelings that existed between them.

The separation itself had not taken very long. Iruka had walked out after Kakashi, staring at his own feet as they moved over the polished floor. It was only when he heard Naruto call his name that he looked up. The wide hall was almost empty, except for ANBU standing at the four points: one at the North, another at the South; at East and at West.

The tall windows were pulled shut, and the only illumination was provided by the long row of skylights high above; dust-motes twirled lazily down shafts of light which pierced the now-eerie murkiness. On the massive, interlocked tiles which made up the floor, there was a circular pattern of symbols, copied from the breaking-seals scroll. In the middle of this, Naruto sat cross-legged, giving Iruka a happy little wave. Behind him, Neji stood with his arms folded, pale eyes gleaming.

"Naruto is here to provide power," Tsunade-sama explained when Iruka gave her a questioning look. "The brat has enough of it to break forty seals."

"Hey!" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, grinning self-consciously. "It's not _my_ fault I'm so awesome."

"Oh, get over yourself." Tsunade wrinkled her delicate nose at him, but it had such a maternal air to it that Iruka had to smile, even though his heart felt like it was crumbling in his chest. Kakashi _must_ have felt how he was feeling, he didn't have the energy to hide _this_, but the other man still did not look at him as they took their places on matching spaces on either side of Naruto. The symbols here were arranged differently from the others; instead of the straight lines which travelled from the four points, these had been drawn in an oval pattern. The four-point lines crossed through these and ended up joining underneath Naruto, presumably.

"And Neji?" Iruka heard Kakashi say.

"For precision," Neji answered, tone low and calm as usual. "To aim Naruto's energy, as it were."

"We make an awesome team," Naruto said, tilting back his head to grin up at his friend. "Like Kaka-sensei and Iruka!" He looked at Iruka with wide eyes. "Well...after now, not anymore. Er."

Iruka shook his head at Naruto, hoping the smile on his face wasn't too bitter and sad. He settled in his oval of seals, clasped his hands together, and waited.

At a signal from the Hokage, the ANBU at North began making seals first, followed by the one at the South. Their lines lit up, then the ones from the East and West.

When the pale-grey light passed Iruka, he felt a sharp pull at his chakra. Naruto made his own seals, and a hazy aura of orange light appeared around his body. Neji bent forward, rest his hands on Naruto's shoulders, his eyes now lit with the power of the activated Byakugan. The light which travelled from Naruto to Iruka's and Kakashi's seals was an orange so bright, it looked like the floor was on fire. Iruka stifled a shout as what felt like monstrous teeth tore into his chakra, ripping into it.

In that single minute of the breaking, Iruka endured what seemed to be an eternity of agony. He felt the reverberation of Kakashi's anguish through their shattering link, and longed to do something, _anything_, to help him; but he felt as if that orange light was burning in his blood, in his very _bones_, spilling out of his eyeballs and out his mouth as he opened it in a silent scream of pain.

The breaking ended so abruptly, that Iruka collapsed forward, only just managing to catch himself on his hands. His body trembled as if he had been in an extended battle, and he retched, spitting out the tea he had taken before and the small breakfast he had eaten quickly before they had followed Hiromasa to the great hall; the bile was bitter on his tongue.

Warm hands touched his face, brushing his hair away from his forehead. Iruka looked up into Naruto's concerned eyes and swallowed against another wave of nausea.

"You okay?" Naruto whispered. He patted Iruka's shoulders awkwardly, as if the touch could transfer any comfort. In a way, it did, because something absolutely vital had been taken away.

He couldn't feel Kakashi anymore. Odd, how just after a short time, he was so used to Kakashi's essence wrapped closely with his.

"Iruka?"

"I think so," Iruka said and let Naruto help him to his feet. The room spun, but he remained still until it did. He saw one of the ANBU supporting Kakashi, while Neji looked him over.

"I don't see a connection," Neji said and then turned to inspect Iruka. A small frown darkened the pallid expanse of his forehead. "Hmm."

"_Hmm_ what?" Naruto demanded, but Neji made a sharp motion with his palm, cutting off any further comment from Naruto. Iruka could feel the agitated tremble in Naruto's body, and rest his head against the side of Naruto's, always touched by the depth of his concern.

"I thought I saw something," Neji said. "But it's gone now."

"It's done," Tsunade announced, and the timbre of her voice sounded like a bell tolling for the dead, or so Iruka thought. "You are both free."

Naruto hugged Iruka so tightly that Iruka felt his ribs groan under the pressure; after he made sure Iruka could stand up on his own, he darted over to Kakashi, and embraced him as well. Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, replying softly to Naruto's worried questions and glanced over his head at Iruka.

Iruka opened his mouth to say something, but a soft touch at his elbow scattered all the thoughts in his weary mind.

"Iruka-sensei." It was the ANBU who had been standing at the West-point. "I will help you home."

"I...all right." He let himself be led out, surprised at the brightness of the day. The ANBU took paths which were deserted, so there were few villagers to give the sensei curious stares. When he got home, the ANBU stayed for awhile, a stolid presence while he washed his face; in the mirror, his expression had a shell-shocked quality. He crawled into bed, trying to ignore the warm scent of Kakashi all over his pillows and sheets, and failed miserably.

He didn't know when the ANBU left, but he swore he felt a gloved hand brush his cheek a moment before he fell asleep.

That had been a week ago; since then, he saw Kakashi now and again, walking at a distance like a barely-remembered dream. The time-off that the Godaime had extended would end soon, and Iruka had already been back in the Missions Room for a few evenings, acknowledging to himself that he was really hoping to see Kakashi up close. It was a bit silly, because Kakashi was still on leave just as he was, and he wouldn't have any missions as yet, but Iruka wasn't feeling too logical at this point. The visiting villagers were beside themselves that they could have helped the shinobi of Konoha, and had left a day after the breaking, extracting promises from both Kakashi and Iruka that there would be visits from both of them. The children met with the Hokage, who assessed their chakra and decided that a chuunin-sensei would be sent once-monthly to help them develop their potential.

Iruka had the sneaking suspicion that the chuunin-sensei would be _him_.

He had been so infatuated with Kakashi before the sealing of their chakra; it was what he fought to hide from the other man, and the closeness had tempered that flighty emotion into something deeper, truer. Yet, he told himself as he trudged home after a short stint in the Missions' Room, Kakashi was probably right. No, he _was._ It had really been too good to be true, one of his deepest fantasies fleshed out, but something that amazing could never be permanent. Besides, Kakashi wasn't attracted to men. It was heartless to keep him trapped in such a farce of a relationship. Besides, he had lost such control of his emotions at their breaking, that he had hurt Kakashi, and he never wanted that.

Iruka turned a corner and bumped right into Kakashi, who stepped back from him quickly and gave Iruka an unreadable stare. Iruka gaped at him, and blinked a few times for good measure.

"Kakashi-san," he heard himself say, distantly. "How are you?"

Kakashi stared at him for a beat too long, and then nodded once, very slowly. "I am well. And you?"

"I-" ..._miss you._ "I'm fine. And the ninken?"

"They are also well. Thank you for asking."

They stood there, just looking at each other. Iruka was the first to break their linked gazes, noting the scroll that Kakashi had tucked into the front-pocket. "A mission?" he asked.

Kakashi executed that slow nod again.

"Oh." Iruka straightened his shoulders and dredged up a smile from goodness knew where. "Please do your best and keep safe, Kakashi-san." He stepped around Kakashi, who turned to keep him in sight; for a moment, they were so close it would have been so easy for Iruka to lean in and kiss him, tracing his lips under the mask, but he didn't. He walked away, each step a necessary evil.

He looked back over his shoulder once, but Kakashi was already gone.

Iruka would return to school in a few days, so he threw himself into preparation that evening; he had the same plan for the next day, but at the hour that he was expecting Naruto to visit with some lunch, a sensation of concentrated disquiet dropped over him like a thick cloak. He had exploding tags in one hand and a kunai in the other before he knew it, for it felt like the killing intent washing over him.

Iruka looked around, frowning. As far as he could tell, there were only neighbours nearby at this time, unless an enemy was cloaking their chakra...but how could they, when he could feel _this_?

He realized that it was more intense from a certain direction, and he turned towards it, feeling it warp through the air at him. No... that wasn't the killing intent. It felt too desperate, too ragged-

"Kakashi," Iruka breathed out, and dropped his weapons on the table, clutching his head. Kakashi was in trouble. Iruka could feel it, but this was _impossible_, the Bijozakura had been broken between them, and he had not detected anything before now-

"He's dying," Iruka whispered to the listening plants. "He's dying."

_Hell, no. Not on my watch,_ Iruka thought fiercely and closed his eyes. He imagined the wave of distress coming towards him as a single bright filament, and he grasped onto the end of it, looping it around his mental fist. The strand wavered, and weakened, but Iruka held on.

Then, he sent his own chakra down the line.

So far away; so very far away, but Iruka kept propelling out his own energy, and he started to shake under the stress. He reclaimed the chakra from all the water-balls around him, and there was a series of soft splashes as the suspended water crashed onto the leaves and stalks. Iruka's parents would have been horrified at this, but Iruka had more important things to think about right now.

The line dimmed momentarily, and then flared so bright that it seared the insides of his eyelids. Iruka heard a voice in his head murmur _Iruka, what are you doing_, but his world went dark before Kakashi could say anything else.


	12. Wasurenagusa

It was, Kakashi decided, his own damned fault.

The mission wasn't supposed to be difficult, but Kakashi had been distracted, mostly by the memory of Iruka's bright smile the last time he saw him. He felt as unsettled as he did when they had been first been bonded, and how he missed the comforting sensation of Iruka's chakra snuggled up with his. He had learned so much about the other man, so much about _himself_...and he'd given it all up.

He really didn't deserve such happiness, though. He had made so many mistakes in his past, and the bonding was not going to be another one.

_But was it_? Damn, that Minato-voice was back. He might need to talk to a psych-nin soon, if this kept up. _Why don't you, of all people, deserve happiness?_

Kakashi covered Guy's back, reduced to hand-to-hand combat. This group of S-class nin was far larger than they thought, and most of their attacks had been focused on Kakashi. Standing at the edge of the battle, there was a pair of very tall twins, holding hands. These two, androgynous in their dress, were the most dangerous, even though they were not in the middle of the fray. They possessed the unsettling ability to pull chakra from the Konoha shinobi nearby, and direct it to their colleagues.

Kakashi had already used the Mangekyō quite a few times to fend off their attack, the situation was _that_ desperate; around him, most of the members of his own team were strewn bonelessly from the actions of the twins; not quite dead, but close. The information sent to the village about this particular group had been severely underestimated, either deliberately or in error, and Kakashi was going to tear some heads off when he got back.

Then, he would go home to Iruka.

The sincerity in that thought stunned him so much that he actually faltered for a moment; he barely had time to block kicks from the missing-nin who had picked up on his distraction.

Home. To Iruka.

More of the enemy pressed close, and Kakashi created an earth-wall to hold them at bay for a few precious seconds.

"Back-up," he shot at Guy as cracks appeared in his tall barrier, the explosions on the other side contributing to its demise.

"Three minutes away," Guy answered, blood streaming from the side of one bushy eyebrow. The receiver in his ear was barely hanging on, but still there.

"Still too far," Kakashi said, trying to catch his breath, and Guy laughed humourlessly. He sounded nothing like his loud, good-natured persona at the moment.

"Then," he said, arming away the blood, "we give them everything we have for three minutes. _Everything._"

Kakashi nodded, and pressed his hands together as a massive hole was blown into his earth-wall. The edges of his vision were dark, and appeared wavy, as if he was sinking to the bottom of a still lake. It was probably this which caused him to spot the twins' red-tinged jutsu a split-second too late as it rocketed through the dust and rock, heading towards Guy.

Kakashi had no time to think; he activated _Kamui_, and like the times before, he focused on a spot just before the chakra-stealing jutsu, aiming to warp time and space to send it into another dimension. He was barely hanging onto consciousness, but he still felt a dismaying jolt when the jutsu split in two: one strand was swallowed up by the _Kamui_, but the other skipped over it as neatly as a flat stone over the surface of water, and struck him.

_I'm going to die here,_ Kakashi thought as he fell to his knees, his life being pulled out of him. He tried to fight it, to drag back what was his, but he could feel the triumphant hauling of those infernal twins, their delight at finally capturing the precious energy of the Copy Nin. It was invasive, the way the jutsu latched onto him, leech-like; it was nothing like Iruka's chakra coiled comfortably around his.

A voice, so clear that he thought that someone other than Guy was positioned next to him, said: _Not on my watch._ This voice was not the Minato-voice. This voice, however, was just as steely with determination, and Kakashi felt chakra rush into him a few beats after that fierce declaration.

_Impossible_, he thought as he got to his feet, seeing the shock of the twins writ large on their faces. This was... _Iruka's_ chakra. _Iruka, what are you doing,_ he thought, but the flow died down. He had received enough, however. _More_ than enough and before the twins could react, there was thunder in his palm, and lightning streaking in the air towards them.

**...**

Whenever he returned to the village, Kakashi would pass by the Memorial Stone to pay his respects to Obito, no matter how drained he was. If he was being carried, his companions would suffer this demand, quite willingly... most times.

Kakashi was pretty sure that Obito wouldn't mind if he went to the hospital first this time around. Tsunade herself treated him in complete silence, ignoring his pointed questions before she sent him off with a pretty young intern, who led him just down the hall of the same wing.

Inside a quiet, plant-filled room, Iruka lay under the white sheets. He was still and unusually pale, his hair spread across the pillows. On one side of the bed, Naruto sat with his head resting on the mattress as he held one of Iruka's hands. On the other side, Anko was seated as well, reading a book.

"Chakra depletion," Anko said before Kakashi could ask. Her voice was very casual, albeit pitched quietly. "He's in a coma."

"What-"

"They had to resuscitate him three times. And for some reason, he's not regenerating his chakra properly," Anko said and her gaze flickered up to him. It was a very accusing stare and Kakashi lifted his chin slightly in challenge. _Darling Iruka_, she had called him, even as a teasing joke; and of course, she must have been the ANBU who had brought Iruka home after their breaking. "Every time the medi-nin try to help, it breaks down again. Tsunade had to put a seal on him to make sure that what he has left doesn't diminish. And he just can't wake up."

Kakashi stared at Iruka's face; the laughter was gone from it, the teasing, the sweet admiration that he had sent Kakashi's way when he thought Kakashi hadn't noticed. The sleeves of Iruka's hospital garb was short, exposing the tattoos that Kakashi had once promised himself that he would lick. All that was left was this silent shell.

"Leave us," he said and shook his head when Anko's face set into hard lines. "I won't hurt him anymore. That is my promise."

"See that you don't." Anko walked around the bed and shook Naruto awake. The boy woke up slowly, and was reluctant to release Iruka's hand, but he seemed more pleased to see Kakashi than Anko had. He complained when Anko pulled him out, and the closing door shut out his increasing volume.

Kakashi sat down where Naruto had been, and took Iruka's hand in his. How could it have been so cold when Naruto had been gripping it for what seemed to be a fairly long time? He rubbed the back of it with his other hand, and listened to the hissing of the machines which were keeping Iruka from toppling over the edge into death.

_Not on my watch_, he said, and smiled to himself. He closed his normal eye, and the Sharingan replayed the movements of the Archer priest's hands behind his forehead protector.

_Come back_, he thought as he made the same slow hand-signs. He still had his eyes closed, but the brightness of the Bijozakura burned through his eyelid, washing his eye with a red that was similar to the heated glow of the Sharingan. He felt their chakra weaving properly together, deeply soothing now. The energy which had been Iruka's boon to him, sent in the moment of his need, filtered back to its rightful owner. They hadn't been separated at all...or rather, there were certain things that could not be broken, that not even a Hyūga could see. A seal created deep and true.

_Come back, Iruka._ _Come back to me._

**...**

In the sad and lonely darkness, Iruka heard the voice in his heart. He turned toward the loving light of the Bijozakura, and opened his eyes.

_fin_

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**AN: **I just wanted to thank you again for reading, and for leaving your thoughtful comments. As I'd said in the notes before the first chapter, this story had been written for the kinked community (Kink Big Bang) over at Dreamwidth; it was written all in one go, and had been an idea I had been nursing for quite some time before that. The ending chapter is shorter and more curt than the rest, not only because I don't like dragging out stories (I get easily bored and distracted when writing), but because of the deadlines as well!

I don't know if I'll have any other stories in this universe, but I'll leave that open. Again, thanks so much for taking a look at this, it means a lot to me.

-megyal


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